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THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 



THE AWAKENING 
OF THE DESERT 



BY 



JULIUS C. BIRGE 



With Illustrations 




RICHARD G. BADGER 

THE GORHAM PRESS 
BOSTON 



Copyright 1912 by Richard G. Badger 
All Rights Reserved 



•Mi 



The Gorham Press » Boston, U. S. A. 



V 



(gC(.A3.303l)8 



THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 



CONTENTS 



Chapter Page 

I A Call to the Wilderness 11 

II "Rollout" 18 

III The Advancing Wave of Civilization 24 

IV ARiverTownof the Day 38 

V Our Introduction to the Great Plains 52 

VI The Oregon Trail 64 

VII Society in the Wilderness 76 

VIII Jack Morrow's Ranch 88 

IX Men of the Western Twilight 102 

X Dan, the Doctor 118 

XI Fording the Platte in High Water 133 

XII The Phantom Liar of Greasewood Desert . . 142 

XIII The Mystery of Scott's Bluffs 156 

XIV The Peace Pipe at Laramie 167 

XV Red Cloud on the War Path 186 

XVI The Mormon Trail 196 

XVII Wild Midnight Revelry in the Caspar Hills 21 1 

XVIII ANightatRedButtes 223 

XIX Camp Fire Yarns at Three Crossings 237 

XX A Spectacular Buffalo Chase 252 

XXI ThePartingof the Ways 267 

XXII The Banditti of Ham's Fork 281 

XXIII Through the Wasatch Mountains 290 

XXIV Why a Fair City Arose in a Desert 303 

XXV Some Inside Glimpses of Mormon Affairs. . 324 

XXVI Mormon Homes and Social Life 342 

XXVII The Boarding House Train 359 

XXVIII Some Episodes in Stock Hunting 380 

XXIX Adventures of an Amateur Detective 393 

XXX The Overland Stage Line 409 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



Trail Through Salt Lake Desert Frontispiece 

Facing page 

Elk 16^ 

Wild Cat 48 

The Oregon Trail, Through Mitchell Pass 64 ^ 

Chimney Rock, One of the Old Landmarks of the '49 

Trail 74/ 

Grizzly Bear 96 *^ 

Cougar 112 t'' 

Buffalos 130 ' 

Jail Rock and Court House Rock 148 

Scott's Bluff, Showing Dome Rock in the Distance . . 155 

The Old Company Quarters at Fort Laramie 184 

Sage Brush Growth 202 

The Rockies 252 

Fremont Peak and Island Lake on the West Slope of 

the WindRiver Range 268 

Red Sandstone Cliffs, on Wind River 280 

Weber River, Mouth of Echo Canyon 294 

JosephSmith 304 

The King of Beaver Island 308 

Brigham Young 316 

First House Built in Salt Lake City 330 

Great Salt Lake ' ' 346 

Through the Wasatch 360 

Dead Man's Falls, Little Cottonwood, Utah 386 

Suter's Fort Before Restoration, Sacramento, Calif. 406 

First House in Denver 420 - 



/ 



THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 



THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

CHAPTER I 

A Call to the Wilderness 

WILL you join us in a camping trip to the 
Pacific Coast?" This alluring invita- 
tion was addressed to the writer one cold, 
drizzly night in the early spring of 1866 
by Captain Hill Whitmore, one of a party of six men who 
by prearrangement had gathered round a cheerful wood 
fire in a village store in Whitewater, Wisconsin. 

The regular business of the establishment had ended for 
the day; the tight wooden shutters had been placed upon 
the doors and windows of the store as was the custom in 
those times; and the key was now turned in the lock to 
prevent intrusions. All the lights had been turned off, 
except that of a single kerosene lamp, suspended from the 
ceiling near the stove; the gentle glow revealed within a 
small arc on either side of the room the lines of shelving 
filled with bolts of dry goods, but toward the front and the 
rear of the long room it was lost in the darkness. The con- 
ditions were favorable for a quiet, undisturbed discussion 
of a proposed enterprise, for even Ray, the clerk, after 
ramming a maple log into the fire, had quietly stretched 
himself out upon one of the long counters near the stDve, 
resting his head upon a bolt of blue denim. 

Tipping back in a big wooden chair against the opposite 

11 



1^ THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

counter, at the Captain's side, with his feet on the rail by 
the stove, sat big John Wilson. John had made a trip 
across the plains with Whitmore the preceding year, and 
was now arranging to become his partner in a similar ven- 
ture on a larger scale. Trader and adventurer by instinct, 
Wilson, as his record had shown, would promptly accept a 
brickyard or a grocery in exchange for live stock or a farm, 
and preferred any new enterprise to a business with which 
he was familiar. 

Fred Day, an interesting young man of twenty years, 
was a consumptive. He and I sat side by side at the front 
of the stove, while nervous little Paul Beemer, when not 
pacing back and forth between the counters behind us, sat 
astride a small chair, resting his arms on its back, and lis- 
tening with close attention. 

Stalwart Dan Trippe sat in a big arm chair near Paul. 
He had already been informed in a general way that a 
transcontinental expedition was being planned. Dan also 
was ever ready to consider any new venture. He had once 
crossed the plains to Pike's Peak, and had no present voca- 
tion. Running his fingers through his curly hair, as was 
his habit in serious moments, he launched a question to- 
ward the opposite side of the stove. 

"Well, John, what's the proposition .^^ What's the 
scheme.^" 

Dropping his chair forward upon its four legs, and 
knocking the ashes from his pipe, John proceeded to out- 
line the tentative plan then in mind. Briefly stated, the 
project was to fit out a wagon train with the view of freight- 
ing from the Missouri River to the Coast. In the preced- 
ing year the rates for transportation to Salt Lake had been 
from twenty to thirty cents per pound, affording a fine 
profit if the train should go through safe. 



A CALL TO THE WILDERNESS IS 

Hill Whitmore, a vigorous, compactly built man, then 
in the prime of life, and who since the discovery of gold in 
California had more than once piloted such trains across 
the wide stretch of plains and mountains to the Pacific 
Coast, would be a partner in the enterprise and the Cap- 
tain of the expedition. We had known him long and well. 

An opportunity was now offered for the investment of 
more capital which, if no mishap should befall the train, 
would pay 'big money.' 

A few young fellows could also accompany the outfit and 
obtain a great experience at a moderate cost. Being my- 
self a convalescent from a serious attack of typhoid fever, 
and having temporarily withdrawn from business at the 
recommendation of physicians, Fred's condition command- 
ed my serious consideration. I gently pulled his coat- 
sleeve as a signal for him to follow me, and we leisurely 
sauntered down into the shadows near the front of the store 
where, backing up against a counter, we were soon seated 
together on its top. We both knew, without exchanging 
a word, that we had some interests in common. Ordi- 
narily, he was a genial and affable companion, but we both 
remained silent then, for we were absorbed in thinking — 
and doubtless along the same lines. The mere suggestion 
of the trip at once brought vividly to my mind all the little 
I then knew of the West. Like all Gaul in the days of 
Caesar, it seemed in some vague way to be divided into 
three parts, the plains, the mountains, and the region be- 
yond. 

The indefiniteness of the old western maps of the day 
left much to the imagination of the young student of geog- 
raphy and suggested the idea of something new to be dis- 
covered. The great American Desert was represented as 
extending hundreds of miles along the eastern slope of the 



14 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

mountains. Other deserts were shown in the unoccupied 
spaces beyond, and 

"As geographers in Afric's maps 
With savage pictures fill their gaps," 

so here and there on our maps of the western territories 
was inserted the name of some Indian tribe which was 
supposed to lead its wild, nomadic life in the district indi- 
cated. A few rivers and mountain peaks which had re- 
ceived the names of early explorers, Great Salt Lake to 
which the Mormons had been led, and other objects to 
which had been applied the breezy, not to say blood-curd- 
ling, appellations peculiar to the nomenclature of the West, 
all were perhaps more familiar to the average American 
schoolboy than were the classic names which have lived 
through twenty centuries of history. In the imagination 
of youth, ''Smoky Hill Fork," "Devil's Slide," and "Rattle- 
snake Hills" figured as pretty nearly what such terms nat- 
urally suggest. Along the first-mentioned stream — then 
far away from civilization — the soft haze and smoke of an 
ideal Indian summer was supposed to rest perpetually, and 
it was believed that in days of long ago, weird demons 
were really wont to disport themselves on the mountain 
slope called Devil's Slide. The far West seemed to be a 
mystic land always and everywhere wooing to interesting 
adventure. 

"Do you think that Ben would go?" asked Fred in an 
earnest tone. 

"That's a bright thought, Fred. With Ben, we would 
be a harmonious triumvirate; but let's hear more of the 
program." So we returned to our seats by the stove. 
^* Whitmore was outlining some of the details and indicat- 
ing the provisions which it would be necessary to make, in 



A CALL TO THE WILDERNESS 15 

view of the fact that no raikoad had as yet been laid even 
across Iowa, much less between the Missouri and the Pacific. 

"Now boys, you must understand that we're cutting 
loose from all established settlements. There won't be 
any stores to drop into to buy anything that you have for- 
gotten to bring along. Anybody that wants lemonade 
will have to bring along his lemons and his squeezer. Alter 
we get beyond the Missouri River you will find no w^hite 
peoples' homes until you strike the Mormon settlement 
in Utah, so we'll have to take along enough grub to feed 
us for several months; — of course we ought to kill some 
game on the way, which will help out. Our stock must live 
wholly upon such pasturage as can be found along the way. 
The men must also be well armed with rifles; wagons must 
be built; and the cattle must be purchased. There is a lot 
to do to get ready, and we must start in on it at once. " 

During the preceding year, as was well known, the In- 
dians in the West had been unusually hostile. Many par- 
ties of freighters, among them Whitmore's train, had been 
attacked, and a great number of travelers had been mas- 
sacred. That year and the one to be described, are still 
mentioned in the annals of the West, as "the bloody years 
on the plains. " This state of affairs was fully considered 
and discussed, not solely from the standpoint of personal 
safety, but also with reference to the success of the enter- 
prise. 

Having been reared among the Indian tribes of South- 
ern Wisconsin, and within a mile of the spot where Abra- 
ham Lincoln disbanded his company at the close of the 
Black Hawk War, I was disposed to believe that I was not 
entirely unfamiliar with the manners and customs of the 
aborigines. Searches for arrows and spearheads in pre- 
historic Aztalan and in other places, visits to Bad Axe and 



16 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

to other scenes of conflict with Indians had been to me 
sources of keen delight. Over these battlefields there 
seemed to rest a halo of glory. They were invested with 
interest profound as that which, in later years, stimulated 
my imagination when I looked upon more notable battle- 
fields of the Old World, where the destinies of nations had 
been decided. But at this time the experiences of my 
youth were fresh in my mind and the suggestion of a west- 
ern trip found in me an eager welcome. 

It was not indeed the lure of wealth, nor entirely a search 
for health that attracted the younger members of the party 
to a consideration of the project, nor in contemplating such 
an expedition was there enkindled any burning desire for 
warfare; it was the fascination of the wild life in prospect 
that tempted us most powerfully to share the fortunes of 
the other boys who had been our companions in earlier 
years and whom we fervently hoped would join the party. 
Fred undoubtedly expressed our sentiments when he said: 

"My enthusiasm might take a big slump if a raid of 
those red devils should swoop down upon us, but if I go, I 
shall feel as if I didn't get my money's worth, if we don't 
see some of the real life of the Wild West. " 

We had all been accustomed to the use of firearms and 
could picture in our imagination how, from behind an am- 
ple rock, with the aid of good long-range rifles, we would 
valiantly defend ourselves against an enemy armed with 
bows and arrows, we being far beyond the range of such 
primitive weapons. 

Immense herds of buffalo and other large game were also 
known to range over the plains from the Canadian border 
to the Gulf of Mexico, and these at times might receive 
proper attention. Yea, there were some present who 
even expressed a desire to capture a grizzly bear in the 




ELK 



A CALL TO THE WILDERNESS 17 

mountains — of course under sane and safe conditions — 
though none up to that time had seen the real thing. 

A former schoolmate, Billy Comstock, best known as 
"Wild Bill," who rode the first pony express from Atchi- 
son, and had often been called upon by our Government 
to act as Indian interpreter, was said to be somewhere on 
the plains. This was encouraging, for W^illiam would be 
able to give us some interesting pointers. 

"We will meet here again after the store closes tomorrow 
night " was the word that passed round as we went out into 
the sleet and rain, and the door closed behind us. 

At the earliest opportunity our friend, Ben Frees, who 
had recently returned from the war, was interviewed with 
favorable results. 

"Yes, I will go with the boys," was my decision finally 
reached after a full discussion of the subject at home. 

And the three boys went. 



CHAPTER II 

"Rollout" 

WHITMORE and Wilson, who were the 
leading spirits in our expedition, urged 
that twenty-five Henry repeating rifles 
(which had recently been invented) and 
thirty Colt's revolvers should be secured for our party; 
this in view of their experience on the plains in the preced- 
ing year and of recent reports from the West. If any tri- 
fling precaution of that nature would in any way contrib- 
ute to the safety and comfort of those gentlemen, it would 
certainly meet with my approval. They were to leave 
families behind them and should go fully protected. In 
fact certain stories that had been related in my hearing 
had excited even within my breast a strong prejudice 
against the impolite and boorish manner in which Indians 
sometimes scalped their captives. Orders were according- 
ly transmitted for the arms to be shipped from Hartford. 
The sixty wagons were built specially for the purpose in 
question and thirty-six vigorous young men, the most of 
whom had seen service in the Civil War just ended, were 
secured to manage the teams. 

Under the new white canvas cover of each wagon lay 
at least one rifle. The men had practiced more or less the 

18 



"ROLL OUT" 19 

use of the peculiar whip that seemed necessary for the long 
teams. It consisted of a very short stock and an exceed- 
ingly long lash, which the expert can throw to its utmost 
length so as to reach the flank of a leader with accuracy, 
and without injury to the beast, producing a report rivaling 
in sharpness the explosion of a firecracker. The loudness 
of its snap was the measure of the skill with which the 
whip had been wielded. 

The afternoon of Wednesday, April 18th, beheld a lively 
scene on the streets of the old town. Three hundred 
and sixty oxen, strong and healthy, but in some instances 
refractory, (as might have been expected), w^ere carefully 
distributed and yoked up in their assigned positions. With 
the wagons they were lined out in the long street, the 
train extending about three-fifths of a mile, while the men 
in position awaited the command to move. In addi- 
tion to the crowds of children and other curious onlookers, 
there were gathered at each wagon many friends, relatives, 
and, in some cases, sweethearts of the young men in charge 
of the several teams, to speak the tender words of farewell. 
It may sound strange now to say that many tears were 
shed. In this day of safe and swift travel, it is not easy to 
find occasion that would justify such a demonstration. It 
must be remembered, however, that the trip, even to Salt 
Lake City, on which this train was about to set out, would 
consume more time than now would be necessary to circle 
the globe. Moreover, the war, during which partings had 
come to be serious occasions, had but just ended. After 
leaving the Missouri River by the route contemplated, 
communication with friends at home would be suspended 
or uncertain for many months. The alarming indications 
of trouble with Indians on the plains were also in every 
mind, but were doubtless viewed less seriously by the 



20 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

strong young men now departing than by those who were 
left behind, even by such as would not be apt *'to fear for 
the fearless were they companions in their danger." 

The appointed hour of four o'clock having arrived, the 
command "roll out, " which afterwards became very famil- 
iar, was given. Under vigorous and incessant cracking of 
the new whips, the long train began to move on its journey 
westward. Expressions of kind wishes blended with 
cheers and the voices of the drivers, who were as yet not 
familiar with the great teams which they were to manage. 

The undignified conduct of some of the young, untrained 
oxen, which occasionally persisted in an endeavor to strike 
off for themselves (possibly to seek their former masters' 
cribs), and the efforts of inexperienced drivers to bring 
them under subjection, were the cause of much amusement, 
especially when one long team, inspired by some sudden 
impulse, swung round its driver and doubled up in a con- 
fused mass, while a lone but unobserved country woman 
in a buggy was endeavoring to drive by. His years of ex- 
perience in a country store were then of little avail to the 
young whipmaster who was less expert in wielding a long 
lash than in measuring calico for maidens. While raising 
his voice to its highest pitch, he was also striving to dem- 
onstrate his skill in manipulating the formidable thong by 
landing its resounding tip on the flank of an unruly steer 
full fifty feet away. As the long cord whirled swiftly in 
its broad circuit behind him it completely enwrapped the 
body of the woman. A terrific scream was the first inti- 
mation which came to our busy driver telling him the na- 
ture of the obstruction against which he was tugging. 
Her horse at once joined in the melee, and, starting, 
dragged the whip behind the buggy, until assistance was 
given and apologies were made. The woman pleasantly 



"ROLLOUT" 21 

remarked that she would not feel safe on her farm with 
many such drivers around. 

Before sunset the train reached Harrington's Pond, the 
objective point of the first night's camp. The cooks at 
once pitched their tent, while the teamsters, having cor- 
ralled the wagons into a circle, prepared to turn the cattle 
loose to feed upon the range. Before they were released, 
Whitmore shouted to the driver inside the circle: 

"Now boys, everybody must look at his oxen mighty 
careful so as to know them and know where they belong 
in the teams, because if you don't you'll have a tussle in 
the morning picking out your stock and yoking them right 
when they'll be mixed up with four hundred other oxen." 

Hearing this admonition, Gus Scoville, who had long 
been a store clerk, stood beside his oxen in a state of doubt 
and dire perplexity and finally opened his heart : 

"Say Jule, these oxen all look just alike to me. How 
in thunder is a fellow going to know them in the morning; 
it's hard enough to know some people. " 

"Why Gus, they have lots of expression in their faces, 
and know each other mighty well. Say, I'll tell you how 
to work it, get a black rag and tear it into long strings and 
tie a strip around the tail of each ox. " 

I don't know from whose old coat Gus tore the black 
lining, but the oxen were soon decorated with emblems of 
mourning. The guards to watch the stock having been as- 
signed, the men came down to the realities of camp life: 
no more china plates set by dainty hands on white linen 
tablecloths; no more delicate tidbits such as a housewife 
in a comfortable home so often serves; no easy chairs in 
which to rest in comfort, and no cleanly beds in which to 
pass the night, — yet no one was disappointed, and good 
spirits prevailed. The tin plates with bacon and hot 



i __ 



^2 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

bread, and the big tin cups of coffee, without milk, were 
disposed of with evident rehsh, born of exercise and good 
digestion. 

After the earher evening hours had been whiled away 
with song and jest, one by one the pilgrims retired to their 
respective covered wagons, wrapped their blankets round 
them and maybe with boots beneath their heads for a pil- 
low, sought the peace of sleep. Now and then the voice 
of some exuberant youth yet untamed would break the 
stillness of the night with an old song inappropriate to the 
hour, and from out some remote wagon another would 
join in the refrain. 

As the mariner on the first glimpse of the morning light 
looks out toward the sky to see what are the signs for the 
coming day, so on their first morning in camp the boys, 
hearing the murmur of raindrops on their wagon covers 
or tents, looked out to take an observation, and discov- 
ered indications of an approaching storm. After the first 
preliminary gusts, the weather settled down into a steady 
rain, which continued thirty-six hours. It was deemed 
inexpedient so early in the trip to subject the men to un- 
necessary exposure, and the party was continued in camp. 
There were many duties to perform. The guard for the 
stock was changed periodically, but the boys in general de- 
voted their energies to keeping dry and to drying out what 
had become wet. This was no easy matter, because the 
camp became surrounded by a sea of mud, and little 
comfort could be derived from an open, out-of-door bon- 
fire, upon which the heavens were sending a drenching 
rain. The meals were served largely in the wagons, in 
some of which a number of the party would gather for mu- 
tual comfort and warmth, the food being conveyed to them 
by self-sacrificing young men, who with a pail of hot coffee 



"ROLLOUT" 23 

in one hand and tinware in the other, braved the elements 
for the common good. 

They were already beginning to learn who were the good 
fellows, ready to do service, and who were the "gentle- 
men," too selfish or indifferent to share fully with others 
the responsibilities and sacrifices of this mode of life. Trav- 
el of the kind upon which they were embarking brings out 
the inward characteristics of men more quickly and thor- 
oughly than can anything else. The spirit of Burns' 
Grace before Meat is consoling when all does not go 
smoothly : 

"Some hae meat and canna eat. 

And some wad eat that want it; 

But we hae meat and we can eat, 

Sae let the Lord be thankit. " 

The gloomy day was followed by a night of inky black- 
ness, during which the April wind made the wagon covers 
flap incessantly, while the rain steadily rattled on the 
sheets and the air was chilly and penetrating. The con- 
ditions were not favorable to hilarity, and there was little 
noise except that caused by the elements; so until noon of 
the following day everyone sought to make the best of ex- 
isting conditions, believing that, as had always been their 
observation, there never was a night so dark, nor a storm 
so severe that it was not followed by a sunburst. 



CHAPTER III 
The Advancing Wave of Civilization 

HAVE you ever carefully watched the move- 
ments or caught the earnest spirit of the im- 
migrant who, after traveling many hun- 
di-eds of miles along the difficult roads through 
an unbroken country to a strange land, there seeks a spot 
where he may build a home for his family? Many of the 
young men in our party were on such a mission. That we 
may better understand the motives which inspired them 
and the movement of which they became a part, a retro- 
spective glance seems almost necessary. 

Having late in the thirties become the first scion of the 
pioneers in the country where I was born, I ought to be 
qualified to throw some light upon the experiences of the 
frontiersman, because primeval Wisconsin, as it lay un- 
touched by civilization, and the inflow of its population as 
I saw it, left upon my mind vivid impressions. There was 
a blending of pathos and humor in the arduous lives of 
these builders of the nation. 

Without then comprehending its significance, I had ob- 
served from time to time the arrival of sturdy and intelli- 
gent home-seekers from New England and New York, 
transporting their household effects in country wagons 
along the old, but almost impassable territorial road. I was 

24 



THE ADVANCING WAVE OF CIVILIZATION 25 

once led to accompany two other children, who, with their 
parents, were on such a pilgrimage. In their two-horse 
wagon were tightly packed a little furniture and a few 
boxes. The wagon cover had been turned that the view 
might be unobstructed. At one time the immigrants 
paused as they forded a running brook; they looked up 
and down the green valley ; then they drove out from the 
road to the summit of a nearby knoll, where their horses 
were again rested. Here the father rose to his feet; he 
turned his eyes earnestly and intently now in one direction 
and now in another across the inviting stretches of unoc- 
cupied territory. An entrancing panorama of small valleys 
and vistas of groves, all clothed in soft verdure of June, 
was spread out before him; not a thing of man's construc- 
tion, nor even a domestic animal, was visible on the land- 
scape, except their faithful dog, which was scurrying 
among the hazel bushes. 

To me there seemed a long delay. The father finally 
lifted his little, young wife so that she stood upon the wag- 
on seat, supporting her with an encircling arm, his two 
boys standing before him. The children looked with 
wondering eyes, as he pointed to a far-away green meadow 
traversed by a brook, from near which rose a wooded slope. 
He asked if that would be a good place for a home. A 
simple but expressive nod, a tear in her eye, and a kiss on 
her husband's cheek, were the only signs of approval that 
the sick and weary wife was able to give. In later years, 
when I had learned their history, I knew better the meaning 
of the mother's emotion. The father drove down the bushy 
slope to the meadow, then taking his axe he crossed to the 
woodland, and there he blazed a tree as an evidence of his 
claim. Returning to the shelter of another settler's home, 
he was welcomed, as were ail comers, by the pioneers, and 



26 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

one little room was for many days the home of the two fam- 
ilies once accustomed to eastern comforts. There they 
remained until the father could drive fifty miles to the 
Government land office, there perfect his title, and return 
to "roll up" his log cabin. 

Such was the beginning of that colonization. I watched 
the first wagon train that later heralded the coming tide 
of thrifty Norwegians, and many of their trains that fol- 
lowed. I had never before seen a foreigner. They all 
followed round the Great Lakes in sailing vessels to Mil- 
waukee. There they piled high their great wooden chests 
upon farmers' wagons by the side of which in strange, 
short-waisted, long-skirted woolen coats and blue caps, and 
with their women and children at their side, they plodded 
along on foot, first through the forests, then over the open- 
ings along the same territorial road. Both men and women 
often slept at night under the loaded wagons. I have ob- 
served them at their meals by the wayside where nothing 
was eaten but dry sheets of rye bread little thicker than 
blotting paper, and much like it in appearance. A few 
villages had then sprung up. From these the Norwegians 
scattered, chiefly among the hills, and there built little 
homes and left their impress upon the country. 

But westward, and farther westward, the tide contin- 
ued to flow. As some of the young men in our train were 
emigrating to the West to establish a home in the new 
country which they had never seen, I now found myself to 
be a part of this wonderful westward movement and was 
again to share in its peculiar vicissitudes and experiences ; 
however, as a participant, favored with special opportu- 
nities, observing others also borne forward in the flux of 
nations. 

As our train was traversing the first five-hundred-mile 



THE ADVANCING WAVE OF CIVILIZATION 27 

lap to the Missouri River, we discovered that the homes 
beyond a certain point in Central Iowa seemed suddenly 
as it were to be few and far apart, leaving increasing 
stretches of unoccupied land between them. The popula- 
tion rapidly thinned out, until its last ripples were reached 
in the western part of the state, where the serenity of na- 
ture was hardly disturbed by the approaching flood of im- 
migration. 

There was already a line of small towns along the west 
bank of the Missouri, which were the staiting points for 
transcontinental traffic, where freight was transferred from 
river steamers to wagons. Beyond the Missouri and a 
narrow strip of arable land along its western shore, lay 
the vast territory believed to be fit only for savages, wild 
beasts, and fur traders, a wide, inhospitable waste, which 
men were compelled to cross who would reach the Eldorado 
on the Pacific, or the mines in the mountains. 

The line of demarcation between the fertile and the 
arid country was supposed to be well defined. On one side 
Nature responded to the spring and summer showers with 
luxuriant verdure; on the western side the sterile soil lay 
dormant under rainless skies. It was believed that immi- 
gration would certainly be checked at this line as the ocean 
tide faints upon a sandy shore; but it had now begun to 
flow along a narrow trail across the desert to a more gener- 
ous land beyond. To this trail our course was now di- 
rected. 

It would be an exceedingly dull company of emigrants 
and ox drivers which while traveling together even through 
a somewhat settled country, and sharing with each other 
the free life of the camp, would not have among its mem- 
bers a few whose thoughts and activities would at times 
break out from the narrow grooves of prescribed duties. 



28 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

Our life of migration through the inhabited country was 
intensely interesting, furnishing many peculiar experiences, 
all flavored to some extent by the character and temper of 
the persons concerned. As the eagerness of the men to 
emancipate themselves from the restraints of civilization 
increased, they began soon to adopt the manners of fron- 
tiersmen, and to resort to every possible device within the 
range of their inventive powers for diversion. 

Young Moore, who hoped to reach Oregon, was an exu- 
berant fellow preferring any unconstrained activities to 
regular duties. In former days he had distinguished him- 
self in "speaking pieces" in the district school. This 
training led him often to quote poetry very freely and 
dramatically. It was Moore who sighted the first game 
worthy of mention, when he observed two beautiful ani- 
mals at the moment that they glided into a copse of bushes 
nearly half a mile from the train. Transferring the care 
of his team to another, he hastened for his gun and started 
upon the first interesting hunt of the trip. This being really 
his maiden experience in the fascinating sport, he was de- 
sirous of winning for himself the first laurels of victory in 
the chase. Not knowing the nature of the animals to be en- 
countered, he approached as closely as possible to the cov- 
eted game, penetrating the thicket where the animals were 
concealed. The first discharge of his gun probably wound- 
ed one of the animals which, by the way, had a means of 
defense that baffles the attacks of the most powerful foe. 
The more experienced drivers soon knew that he had en- 
countered the malodorous Mephites Americana , commonly 
known as skunk. Both of the animals and possibly some 
unseen confederates of the same family, must have invoked 
their combined resources in the conflict with Moore, for the 
all-pervasive pungent odor loaded the air and was wafted 



THE ADVANCING WAVE OF CIVILIZATION 29 

toward us, seemingly dense enough to be felt. Moore 
retreated into the open and ran toward the train for as- 
sistance, but he was no longer a desirable companion. 
While it might be truly said that he was a sight, it might 
better be said that he was a smell. 

The train moved on in search of pure air, and Moore fol- 
lowed, bearing with him the reminder of his unfortunate 
experience. Wheresoever he went he left behind him an 
invisible trail of odor which had the suggestion of conta- 
gion, and from which his fellows fled in dismay or disgust. 

In the calm stillness of the next evening, w^hen voices 
were easily heard at a distance, and when through the soft 
air of spring, perfumes were transmitted in their greatest 
perfection, Moore stood alone, far away from the camp, 
and delivered an eloquent but pathetic monologue, con- 
cluding with the servant's words to Pistol, "I would give 
all my fame for a pot of ale and safety. " Then across the 
intervening space he calmly discussed with his friends the 
advisability of burying his clothes for a week to deodorize 
them, a custom said to be common among farmers who 
have suffered a like experience. It was finally conceded 
that he should hold himself in quarantine for the night, 
and not less than a mile from the train, and that during the 
ensuing days his garments might be hung in the open air 
on the rear of the hind wagon. The sequel to this hunt 
was approximately forty miles long, for the train covered 
more than that distance before it ceased to leave in its 
trail the fragrant reminder of Moore's first essay in hunt- 
ing. 

On a Saturday the long train rolled through the compara- 
tively old town of Milton, a little village settled in the for- 
ties by a colony of Seventh Day Baptists. As is well 
known, these people honor the seventh day, or Saturday, 



30 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

as their Sabbath, or day of rest. We filed through the 
quiet, sleepy town while the worshippers were going to 
their church. It seemed as if we had either lost our reck- 
oning of time, or were flagrantly dishonoring the Lord's 
Day. 

After we had passed through to the open country beyond, 
some of the boys who had been riding together in the rear 
and had been discussing the Sunday question brought to 
mind by this trifling occurrence, decided to interview our 
highest authority upon the subject, and accordingly rode 
alongside of Captain Whitmore, who had been riding in 
advance. *' Captain, " said one of the party, in a dignified 
and serious manner, "we know that your recent life has 
been spent very much in the mountains and that you have 
not been a regular attendant at church, although we be- 
lieve your wife to be a good Methodist. What has been 
your practice in this kind of travel with reference to Sab- 
bath observance.^" 

"Well, now, my boy,'* replied the Captain, 'T have 
never cared very much for Sunday or for churches, but you 
must know that when we get out on the plains we can't af- 
ford to stop all our stock to starve on a desert where there 
is no feed or water just because it is Sunday. Sometimes 
there may be grass enough on a little bottom for a night, 
but it will be cropped close before the stock lies down. To 
remain another night would mean starvation to the stock, 
which would be roaming in every direction. Of course I 
don't know the ranges as well as the buffaloes do, but there 
are a few places, and I know pretty near where to find 
them, where in most seasons stock can feed a second day, 
unless others have too recently pastured it. When I find 
such a place I lie over for a day and don't care if it is Satur- 
day, Sunday or Monday. But, " he added, with earn- 



THE ADVANCING WAVE OF CIVILIZATION 31 

estness, *'I want to tell you one thing. I have crossed the 
plains to the coast many times, and I can take a train of 
oxen or mules and turn them out one whole day every 
sixth or seventh day, free to range for twenty-four hours, 
and I can make this trip in less time and bring my stock 
through to the Pacific in better condition than any fool 
can who drives them even a little every day. " 

"Now, Cap," said one, "you are getting right down to 
the philosophy of Sabbath observance. Why can you 
drive farther by resting full days rather than to rest your 
stock a little more each day .^^ " 

"Well, I don't know, except that I have tried both ways. 
Animals and men seem to be built that way. Now, 
here's these Seventh Day Baptists whose Sunday comes 
on Saturday. They're all right, but they would be just as 
correct if they would regularly use any other day as the 
Sabbath, and I believe the Lord knew what we ought to 
have when he got out the fourth commandment. I know 
'em all as well as you do. I think Mrs. Whit more is right 
in going to church on Sunday, and in making me put on a 
clean shirt when at home, even though I do not go with 
her. It would be better for me if I would go with her, but 
I have roughed it so much that I have got out of the way 
of it." 

Thus was announced the Captain's policy for our quasi 
weekly days of rest, and the affair was conducted accord- 
ingly. 

As our train crawled across Rock River, whose banks 
were once the favorite hunting grounds of the Win- 
nebagoes and Pottawattamies, I recalled a final gather- 
ing of the remnant of the latter tribe, which I 
witnessed, when, for the last time, they turned from 
their beautiful home and started in single file on their 



32 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

long, sad trail toward the setting sun, to the reser- 
vation set apart for them forever. We shall note more of 
this type of historical incident as we pass beyond the Mis- 
souri, for the white man was pushing the Indian year by 
year farther back into the wild and arid lands then sup- 
posed to be of no use for cultivation. 

The overshadowing events of more recent years cause 
us almost to forget that Zachary Taylor, Winfield Scott, 
Jejfferson Davis, Abraham Lincoln, Robert Anderson of 
Fort Sumter fame, and other men who became distinguished 
in American affairs, were once engaged in pursuing the 
Sacs and Foxes up these streams which we crossed while 
on our journey to the land of the yet unsubdued Sioux and 
Cheyennes. 

Passing beyond the Mississippi, and to the western limit 
of railroad transportation, I was joined at Monticello by 
my old friends, Ben Frees and Fred Day. 

Walking back six miles from the frontier station we 
struck the camp in time for a late supper. The dark even- 
ing hours were brightened by a rousing bonfire that the 
boys had built. The shadows of night had long since set- 
tled down upon the camp, and, there being no apparent 
occasion for us to retire immediately, Ben, Fred and I 
wandered together out into the gloom far away from the 
now flickering camp fire, which like some fevered lives, 
was soon to leave nothing but gray ashes or blackened, 
dying embers. We had just come together after our sepa- 
ration, and we conversed long concerning the unknown 
future that lay before us, for no definite plans for our trip, 
nor even the route that we were to take, had been per- 
fected, and this was the second of May. 

Our footsteps led us toward a rural cemetery, some miles 
east of the town of Monticello, in which we had already 



THE ADVANCING WAVE OF CIVILIZATION SS 

observed a few white grave stones, indicating that the grim 
reaper had found an early harvest in this new settlement. 
Our attention was soon attracted to a dim light slowly 
floating around the ground in a remote ravine within the 
enclosure. A lonely graveyard at night had never appealed 
to me as a place of especial interest, yet I had heard of one 
unfortunate, who in his natural life had done a great 
wrong; when consigned to the tomb, his spirit, unable to 
rise, was held to earth, and yearly on certain nights it 
hovered over the grave where his own body had gone to 
dust. 

"Boys, " said Fred, "that light is certainly mysterious; it 
is not the light of a candle. '* A slight chill ran up my spinal 
column, concerning which I made no comment. It was at 
once suggested that there was nothing we were able to do 
about it; moreover our diffidence and modesty naturally in- 
clined us to avoid mixing up in the private, sub-mundane 
affairs of the departed, especially those with whom we had 
had no acquaintance, or whose character was uncertain. 
If, instead of this strange light, the appearance had been 
something of flesh and blood, we, being as we believed, 
quite courageous, would have proceeded at once to inves- 
tigate its nature. Curiosity, however, led us to advance 
cautiously forward. Ben, being a trifle shorter than I, 
was permitted to move in advance, as I did not wish to 
obstruct his view. The phosphorescence, or whatever it 
was, soon ceased to move, and rested near a little grave- 
stone, the form of which we could faintly discern in out- 
line. Quietly drawing nearer, we caught the subdued 
sound of something like a human voice coming, as we be- 
lieved (and as was truly the fact), from the earth; the 
words, as nearly as we could understand, were, "help me 
out. " Surely this was a spirit struggling to escape, and our 



34 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

approach was recognized . At that moment we were startled 
to discover an arm reaching upward from the earth. 
Another dark form, emerging from the shadow of a near- 
by copse of bushes, in the dim light could be seen approach- 
ing toward the extended hand, which it appeared to grasp, 
and a body was lifted to the surface, from which came the 
words of kind assurance, "It's all right, Mike." "Sure," 
said Ben, "that is an Irishman, and I think Irishmen are 
generally good fellows, but I believe they are robbing a 
grave." 

Drawing still nearer we discovered that the light which 
we had observed was an old-fashioned tin lantern, suspend- 
ed from a small tree, and its feeble rays now brought to our 
view a plain, wooden coffin resting upon the ground. In- 
spired by a better knowledge of the situation, we quickly 
came to the front, and, as if vested with some authority 
for inquiring concerning this desecration, we demanded an 
explanation, for it was now past midnight. 

"And wad ye have all the facts?" asked the Irishman, 
as we looked into the open grave. We firmly urged that 
we must understand the whole situation. The two men 
glanced at each other. "Well," said one, "this man in 
this coffin ferninst ye, died last night of smallpox, and we 
were hired to bury him before morning, because ye 
wouldn't have a smallpox stiff around in the day time, wad 
ye?" The path out of the graveyard was tortuous and 
dark; in fact, we found no path through the dense under- 
brush, but we reached the road in safety. Unseen and 
immaterial things are usually more feared than are visible 
and tangible objects. The combination of smallpox and 
spirits departed verges visibly on the uncanny. 

On a tributary of the Des Moines River we found the 
first Indians thus far seen, possibly two score of miserable, 



THE ADVANCING WAVE OF CIVILIZATION 35 

degraded beings who were camping there. They had Httle 
of the free, dignified bearing of representatives of the tribes 
with which I had once been famihar. A Httle contact with 
civiUzation and a httle support from the Government had 
made them the idle, aimless wanderers that nearly all sav- 
ages become when under such influence. Keokuk, the 
successor of Black Hawk, and Wapello, became chiefs of 
the imited tribes of the Sacs and Foxes, and along with 
Appanoose, a Fox chief, received reservations along these 
streams. Wapello was buried at Indian Agency near Ottu- 
tumwa, beside the body of his friend and protector, Gen- 
eral Street. 

Our men had not yet reached a state of savagery in 
which there was not occasional longing for the good things 
commonly enjoyed by civilized beings. Among these 
was milk. On the day that we met the Indians, and at 
some distance from the camp, a solitary cow was seen feed- 
ing on the prairie. Several days had passed since our men 
had been permitted to enjoy the luxury of milk for coffee. 
It occurred to Brant that a golden opportunity was pre- 
sented, which if seized upon would place the camp under 
lasting obligations to him. He struck across the country 
and gradually approaching the animal succeeded so thor- 
oughly in securing her confidence that he soon returned 
^Nath a pail of the precious liquid. The question arose as 
to whether or not Brant could set up a valid defense against 
a charge of larceny in case the owner of the cow, having 
proof that he had extracted the milk, should prefer charges 
against him. The case was argued at the evening session, 
and I preserved a record of the proceedings. Evidence 
was adduced to show that at the time the milk was taken, 
the cow was feeding upon the public domain, or what is 
known as Government land; that the grass and water 



36 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

which were taken for its support and nourishment were 
obtained by the said cow from pubUc lands without pay- 
ment therefor; that a portion of said grass taken by said 
cow and not required for nourishment did, through the 
processes of nature, become milk; that the said milk at the 
time of its extraction had not become either constructively 
or prospectively an essential part of said cow, nor could 
any title thereto become exclusively vested in the owner 
of said cow, except such milk as said cow should have with- 
in her when she should enter upon the premises of her 
owner. It was admitted that the milk was obtained from 
said cow under false pretences, by virtue of the fact that 
Brant's manner in approaching her was such as was calcu- 
lated to cause any cow of ordinary intelligence to believe 
that he was duly authorized to take said milk. It was 
assumed, however, that under the statutes of Iowa there 
was no law by which said cow could become a plaintiff in a 
case, even through the intervention of a nearest friend. 

As the milk was to be served freely to all the boys for 
breakfast, and as we were desirous that all questions of 
justice and equity should be fairly settled before any prop- 
erty should be appropriated to our use which might have 
been unlawfully acquired, the jury, after prayerful con- 
sideration decided that as the food taken by said cow to 
produce said milk was public property, the milk also was 
the property of the public. We, therefore, used the milk 
in our coffee for breakfast. It was also the last obtained 
by the men for many months. 

At this juncturel was to be sent upon a mission. There 
had been transported in the Captain's wagon a little more 
than $8,000.00 in currency to be used in the purchase of 
supplies. Whitmore was anxious that this currency, 
which was quite a large sum for that day, should be de- 



THE ADVANCING WAVE OF CIVILIZATION 37 

posited in some bank in Nebraska City. Improvising a 
belt in which the money was placed, I started out alone 
for that town, and soon encountered heavy storms, which 
delayed progress. On one day in which I made a continu- 
ous ride of seventy -eight miles, one stretch of twenty-four 
miles was passed along which no house was visible. This 
indicated the tapering out of civilization and the proximity 
of the western limit of population in that territory. 

On the 22d of May I crossed the Missouri River by a 
ferry, after fording a long stretch of flooded bottom lands 
to the landing, five days after leaving our train, and 
reached Nebraska City, then an outfitting point for trans- 
continental travel. 



CHAPTER IV 

A River Town of thp: Day 

FROM the western boundary of the state that 
bears its name, the attenuated channel of the 
Missouri River stretched itself far out into the 
unsettled Northwest, projecting its long an- 
tennae-like tributaries into the distant mountains, where 
year after year the fur traders awaited the annual arrival 
of the small river steamers, which in one trip each summer 
brought thither supplies from St. Louis and returned with 
rich cargoes of furs and peltries. On the western bank 
of that turbid, fickle stream were half a dozen towns, 
known chiefly as out-fitting places, which owed their ex- 
istence to the river transportation from St. Louis, whereby 
supplies consigned to the mountains, or to the Pacific Coast, 
could be carried hundreds of miles further west and nearer 
to the mining districts and the ocean than by any other 
economical mode of transit. These towns had, therefore, 
become the base of operations for commerce and travel 
between the East and the far West, and so remained until 
the transcontinental railroads spanned the wilderness be- 
yond. 

Nebraska City was a fair type of those singular towns, 
which possibly have no counterpart at the present time. 
Like many western settlements, Nebraska City was chris- 
tened a city when in its cradle, possibly because of the pre- 

38 



A RIVER TOWN OF THE DAY 39 

vailing optimism of all western town-site boomers, who 
would make their town a city at least in name, with the 
hope that in time it would become a city in fact. The vis- 
itor to one of those towns at the present day is sure to be 
impressed with the remarkable metamorphosis wrought in 
five decades, if he stops to recall the hurly-burly and bustle 
of ante-railroad days when the great wagon trains were 
preparing for their spring migration. 

It was at noon on the day of my arrival in Nebraska 
City when I debarked from the ferryboat and rode my 
horse up the one street of the embryo city until I discov- 
ered the primitive caravansary known as the Seymour 
House, which provided entertainment not only for man 
and beast but incidentally also for various other living 
creatures. The house seemed to be crowded, but with the 
suave assurance characteristic of successful hotel managers, 
the host encouraged me to cherish the hope that I might be 
provided with a bed at night, which would be assigned me 
later. After taking a hasty meal, being as yet undespoiled 
of the funds I had transported, I entered a bank, and with 
little knowledge concerning its solvency, gladly relieved 
myself of the burden of currency which I had borne for 
many days and nights. Then I strolled out upon the busy 
highway to see the town. 

Rain had been falling intermittently for several days, 
leaving portions of the roadway covered with a thick solu- 
tion of clay, but there were sidewalks which the numerous 
pedestrians followed. A panoramic view of the streets could 
not fail to remind one of the country fairs in olden times. 
Huge covered wagons, drawn by four or five yoke of oxen, 
or as many mules, moved slowly up and down that thor- 
oughfare. Mingled with these were wagons of more mod- 
erate size, loaded with household goods, the property of 



40 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

emigrants. I learned that the greater number of these were 
taking on supplies for their western journey. Many men, 
some mounted upon horses and others upon mules, were 
riding hurriedly up and down the street, as if speeding upon 
some important mission. All these riders seemed to have 
adopted a free and easy style of horsemanship entirely un- 
like that which is religiously taught by riding masters and 
practiced by gentlemen in our city parks. Their dress 
was invariably some rough garb peculiar to the West, con- 
sisting in part of a soft hat, a flanne Ishirt, and '*pants" 
tucked tightly into long-legged boots, which were gener- 
ally worn in those days. To these were added the indis- 
pensable leather belt, from which in many cases a revolver 
hung suspended. Men of the same type thronged the 
sidewalks; many of them with spurs rattling at their heels 
were young, lusty -looking fellows, evidently abounding in 
vigor and enthusiasm. 

I conversed with many of them, and learned that the 
greater number w^ere young farmers or villagers from the 
western and southern states. Some of them were wearing 
the uniform of the Northern or the Southern army. As- 
sembled in and around the wide-open saloons there were 
also coteries of men whose actions and words indicated 
that they were quite at home in the worst life of the fron- 
tier. Hardly one of these men then upon the streets, as 
far as I could discover, was a resident of the city; all seemed 
to be planning to join some train bound for the West. 
Such were some of the factors destined to waken into life 
the slumbering resources of the broad, undeveloped regions 
beyond the Missouri. 

Wandering further up the street, my steps were attracted 
toward a band of Pawnee Indians, who had entered the 
town, and, standing in a compact group, were gazing with 



A RIVER TOWN OF THE DAY 41 

silent, stolid solemnity upon the busy scene. As was the 
custom with that tribe, their stiff black hair was cut so as 
to leave a crest standing erect over their heads. Their 
blankets, wrapped tightly around their bodies, partly ex- 
posed their bare limbs and moccasined feet, their primitive 
bows and their quivers of arrows. They had not yet de- 
generated into the mongrel caricatures of the noble red 
man that are often seen in later days, garbed in old straw 
hats and a few^ castaway articles of the white man's dress, 
combined with paint and feathers; but they stood there as 
strong representatives of the last generation of one of the 
proudest and most warlike tribes of America, the most un- 
compromising enemy of the Sioux, and as yet apparently 
unaffected by contact with civilization. 

Led by a natural desire to learn what were the thoughts 
then uppermost in their minds, I cordially addressed them 
with the formal salutation "How," a word almost univer- 
sally understood and used in friendly greeting to Indians 
of any tribe. A guttural "How" was uttered in return, 
but all further efforts to awaken their interest were fruit- 
less. I was not surprised to discover that no language at 
my command could convey to them a single idea. The 
subject of their re very, therefore, remains a secret. 

I well knew, however, that we were then standing on a 
part of their former hunting grounds and that lodges of 
their tribe had often stood on that very bluff. Had I seen 
my home of many years thus occupied by unwelcome in- 
vaders, I, too, might have spurned any greeting from a 
member of the encroaching race. Those Pawnees cer- 
tainly heard their doom in the din and rattle upon that 
street where the busy white man was arming to go forward 
through the Indian's country. They soon turned their 



42 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

backs on the scene and I saw them file again slowly west- 
ward toward the setting sun. 

The time having arrived to return to the hotel, and, if 
possible to perfect my arrangement for a room, I retraced 
my steps. The hotel at night naturally became the ren- 
dezvous for all classes of people, if it can be properly said 
that there was more than one class. Most conspicuous 
were the rough freighters, stock traders, and prospective 
miners; and the few rooms were crowded to overflowing. 
Any request for a private room was regarded as an indica- 
tion of pride or fastidiousness on the part of the applicant, 
and was almost an open breach of the democratic customs 
of the West. But I passed the night without serious dis- 
comfort and doubtless slept as peacefully as did my com- 
panions. 

There were, however, other houses in Nebrsaka City for 
the entertainment of guests. It was another hospitable 
tavern and another well remembered night, to which I 
would now briefly refer. Accompanied by an older com- 
panion, I repaired to this hostelry, because of our previous 
acquaintance with the proprietor, who had formerly been 
a genial old farmer near my native town and was known 
as Uncle Prude. He promised to "fix us up all right" after 
supper. Accordingly we stepped out under a spreading 
oak tree, where, upon a bench, were set two tin washbasins 
and a cake of yellow soap, while from a shed nearby a long 
towel depended, gliding on a roller and thoroughly wet 
from frequent and continued service, — all of which instru- 
ments of ablution and detergence we exploited to the great- 
est advantage possible. Sitting a little later at one of the 
long, well-filled supper tables, we wondered how Uncle 
Prude would dispose of the great number of people in and 
around his hostelry. At an early hour we signified our in- 



A RIVER TOWN OF THE DAY 43 

clination to retire, and by the light of a tallow candle were 
escorted to a large room known as the ball room, so called 
because on great occasions, like the Fourth of July and 
New Year's night, it was used by the country swains and 
their lasses for dances. It was now filled with beds, with 
only narrow passages between them. A wooden shoe box, 
upon w^hich was a tin washbasin and pitcher, stood near 
the end of the room. A single towel and a well -used horn 
comb still boasting a number of teeth, were suspended by 
strings. These, with four or five small chairs, constituted 
the furnishings. Some of the beds were already occupied 
by two persons, in some cases doubtless the result of natu- 
ral selection. We took possession of the designated bed, 
blew out the light, and soon fell fast asleep. Later in the 
night we were awakened by the arrival of a belated guest, 
who was ushered in by the landlord's assistant. Taking a 
careful survey of the long row of beds, the assistant point- 
ed to the one next to that which we were occupying and 
said, "You had better turn in with that fellow. I see it's 
the only place left. " Gratified by his good fortune in se- 
curing accommodations, the guest thanked his escort, sat 
down on a chair and with his foot behind his other leg pro- 
ceeded to remove his long boots. The noise of his grunts, 
or the falling of his boots upon the bare floor, awoke his 
prospective companion, who, slowly coming to conscious- 
ness, addressed the newcomer with the remark in kindly 
accents, accompanied with a yawn, *' Are ye thinking about 
coming in here with me, stranger?" "Wa'll yes," he re- 
plied, "Prude sent me up. He said you and I had about 
all that's left. Pretty much crowded here tonight, they 
tell me," and he was soon nearly ready to blow out the 
light. The man in the bed, apparently revolving in his 
mind some serious proposition, added, "I think it's noth- 



44 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

ing more than fair, stranger, to tell you that I've got the 
itch, and maybe you wouldn't like to be with me. " As a 
fact that undesirable contagion was known to be somewhat 
prevalent in those parts. The announcement, however, 
failed to produce the expected result. The newcomer, 
apparently unconcerned, calmly replied, "If you've got 
the itch any worse than I have, I am sorry for you. I 
guess we can get along together all right," and then pro- 
ceeded to turn down his side of the bed. The occupant 
jumped to the floor, hastily gathered up his wearing ap- 
parel and suddenly bolted out the door. With no word of 
comment, the last comer blew out the light, turned into 
the vacant bed, and enjoyed its luxury the rest of the night. 
We were unable to identify the strangers on the following 
morning, but there were many questionings among the 
guests concerning the manner in which a certain affection 
may be transmitted. 

On the following morning I had little choice but to fol- 
low the example of other transients and join the throng 
upon the street. It was not difficult to determine what 
thoughts were uppermost in the minds of the many men 
whom I met along that thoroughfare. I heard negotia- 
tions for the purchase of mules and oxen, and contracts 
for freight, often ratified with Stygian sanctity by the in- 
vitation to "go in and have something to drink." I was 
brought in contact with many men from Missouri and Ken- 
tucky. In negotiating for a small purchase, the price 
named by the seller was two bits. "What is two bits?" I 
asked. The gentleman from Pike County, Missouri, ap- 
peared to be surprised when my ignorance was revealed. 
After he had enlightened me, I found him to be equally 
dense when I proposed to give two shillings for the article. 



A RIVER TOWN OF THE DAY 45 

the shilling of twelve and a half cents being then a common 
measure of value in my own state. 

The signs over many of the stores of the town appealed 
to the requirements of a migratory people, "Harness 
Shop," "Wagon Repairing," "Outfitting Supplies," being 
among those frequently observed. The legend "Waggins 
for Sail" was of more doubtful and varied significance. 
The symbols, "Mammoth Corral," "Elephant Corral," 
and other corrals, indicated stables with capacious yards 
for stock, with rude conveniences which the freighter tem- 
porarily needs until he is out on the plains. The term 
"corral" was applied in the West to any enclosure for 
keeping stock and supplies, as well as to the circle formed 
by arranging the wagons of a train, as is the custom of 
freighters at night, for their protection and for other ob- 
vious reasons. In these regions the significance of the 
term widened so as to include any place where food or 
drink is meted out to men, instead of to mules, and signs 
bearing the word "Corral" were very common on resorts 
of that class. The sign "Bull Whackers Wanted," posted 
in many conspicuous places, was well understood by the 
elite of the profession to be a call for drivers. 

The demand for firearms and knives seemed to be very 
active. The majority of men who had recently arrived 
from the East seemed to regard a revolver as quite indis- 
pensable, even in Nebraska City. As a fact, however, 
they were equipping for the plains. The local residents 
who were busy in their stores selling supplies apparently 
had no use for revolvers, except to sell them as fast as pos- 
sible. 

Near the foot of the street is the levee, where at that 
season of the year many steamers arrived and departed, 
their freight being discharged and transported to ware- 



46 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

houses, whence the greater part of it was reshipped by 
wagon trains to the far West. I went aboard one of 
the steamers and looked down upon the scene of feverish 
activity. The merchandise was being rushed ashore, that 
the boat might be hurried back to St. Louis, whence all 
freight to these towns was then brought. The busy sea- 
son was brief, and time was money. 

A mate stood near the head of the gangplank urging the 
colored deck hands to move more rapidly. The fervent 
curses that he hurled at the men seemed to tumble over 
each other in the exuberance of his utterance. While thus 
engaged, a coatless man walked rapidly up the gangplank 
and with clenched fists approached the officer thus busied 
with his exhortations. In threatening tones and manner 
and with an oath he notified the mate that he had been 

waiting for him and now . The mate, anticipating 

the man's evident purpose, instantly caught the spirit of 
the occasion and without awaiting the full delivery of the 
threat, himself delivered a powerful blow between the in- 
truder's eyes, which unceremoniously tumbled him into 
an open hatchway nearby. Casting a brief glance through 
it into the hold, he asked the visitor if there was any one 
else around there that he had been waiting for. The mate 
then turned on the deck hands and cursed them for stop- 
ping to see the sport. The "niggers" displayed their teeth 
and smiled, knowing that the mate would have been in- 
consolable had there been no witnesses to his encounter. 

On the 30th of May, eight days after my arrival at Ne- 
braska City, our train arrived on the opposite side of the 
river, and I went over to assist in the crossing. The 
stream had overflowed its banks and night and day on its 
bosom a mighty drift of logs and trees went sweeping by. 



A RIVER TOWN OF THE DAY 47 

"River, O River, thou roamest free 

From the mountain height to the deep blue sea. '* 

There was, however, no tint on the rushing, rolHng wat- 
ers of the chocolate-colored Missouri that could remind 
one of the ocean blue. 

The diary of a journey such as we embarked upon is 
probably of more interest in those features that deal with 
early western life under then existing conditions than in 
geological or archaeological observations. With this 
idea in mind, I venture to narrate an incident as it was 
told me on meeting our outfit at the river. The train had 
come to a halt in the village of Churchville, Iowa. Just 
before the order to "Roll out," was given, a youth ap- 
parently fifteen or sixteen years of age, approached and 
expressed a desire to see the proprietor of the expedition. 
Captain Whitmore was indicated as that person. The 
youth requested permission to accompany the train to Ne- 
braska City, to find an uncle. The Captain cast glances 
at the boy, whose fine, clear complexion, delicate form, and 
quiet, unassuming manners indicated that he was probably 
unaccustomed to a life of exposure and was hardly fitted 
to enjoy the rough experience of an ox driver. "Young 
man," said the Captain, "I guess this will be a little too 
severe for you; I hardly think you will like this kind of 
travel." On being assured that no fears need be enter- 
tained in this matter, but that the boy was not able to pay 
the high rate of stage fare, the permission was finally grant- 
ed. The impression really made upon the Captain was 
similar to that made by Viola on Malvolio, as given in 
Twelfth Night, where he is made to say : 

" Not yet old enough for a man nor young enough for a 
boy ! as a squash is before 'tis a peascod, or a codling when 



48 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

'tis almost an apple; 'tis with him in standing water be- 
tween boy and man. He is very well-favored and he 
speaks very shrewishly." 

The boy immediately, as if by instinct or delicacy, took 
a position in the train with Mrs. Brown, the cook's wife. 
As an assistant the youth did not assume the fresh man- 
ners expected from the average boy who is gifted with at- 
tractive features and fine temperament, but rode quietly 
along from day to day. In the course of time the Cap- 
tain was led to entertain a suspicion concerning the young- 
ster, which was finally embodied in a question concerning 
his sex. Without hesitation the boy frankly admitted 
that he was a girl. Being exposed so suddenly and among 
so large a number of men, she burst into tears, a very natu- 
ral mode of expression among women. 

Her story was short. It was a story of wrongs suffered 
at the hands of a step-father, and of desire to find an uncle 
in the West, which she had taken this method of accom- 
plishing. "But where's her hame and what's her name, 
she didna choose to tell. " She admitted having her prop- 
er apparel in her satchel, which was substituted for her 
male attire in the house of a farmer nearby. She then 
returned to the train and finished her journey, keeping 
herself in close company with Mrs. Brown. I saw the 
young woman soon after meeting the train. She was 
certainly a handsome, refined, modest-looking village girl, 
not more than nineteen years of age. We may catch an- 
other glimpse of the young girl's life later. 

There have been but few writers who have laid the 
scenes of their romances in the far W^est, but there are 
numerous bits of history, supplied by the social life of the 
pioneers, like this truthfully-related incident, which the 
pen of a ready writer might turn into a tale as beautiful 




WILD CAT 



A RIVER TOWN OF THE DAY 49 

and interesting as that of Viola, who in the role of page en- 
acted her part and "never told her love. " 

On Saturday, June 2nd, additional crowds of people were 
attracted to the town by its first election, at which an op- 
portunity was offered ths people )f the territory to vote 
upon the question of "State or no State." We learned 
later, that the vote of the people as might have been ex- 
pected was in the affirmative, but on President Johnson's 
failing to approve the measure, statehood was for a time 
denied them. 

Our train passed on through Nebraska City and camped 
six miles westw^ard. We discovered later that the con- 
gestion of travel on the one thoroughfare of the town was 
really the result of the lack of business. The amount of 
freight to be moved from the river towns was less than had 
been expected, and the shippers being unwilling to pay 
the rates that had prevailed in former years, the freighters 
were refusing to carry the merchandise and were lingering 
in the towns expecting better prices. 

In the course of a few days some expected friends ar- 
rived from Wisconsin with special merchandise and horse 
teams, and without waiting for the ox train, it was decided 
that a few from our party should separate from the others 
and with horse teams proceed westward at once. Nego- 
tiations with reference to a common interest in the mer- 
cantile venture were finally perfected. We purchased the 
supplies of provisions for our journey, and after supper, on 
June 8th, pulled out five miles from the town to our first 
Nebraskan camp. The sun had hardly set, closing the 
long June day, when our party, now brought together for 
the first time on this expedition, found its members all 
rounded on the grass in a prairie valley and half reclining 
upon boxes and bags, discussing the future. 



50 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

There was Peter Wintermute, a powerful, athletic young 
man; he was six feet and three inches in height, and his long 
legs were stretched out upon the grass. He was an ex- 
perienced horseman, and had a team of four fine animals 
with a modest wagon load of merchandise of some value, 
which it was proposed to retail somewhere in the West. 
Paul Beemer, his wagon companion, interested in the 
venture, was a small, nervous, untiring fellow, and a fine 
shot with a rifle. This Peter and Paul had few of the 
characteristics of the Apostles whose names they bore. It 
is written of Peter, the Disciple, that on one occasion he 
swore and repented. I fail to recall the occasion when our 
Peter did not swear — and that is only one of many points 
of dissimilarity. 

In the circle sat Daniel Trippe, another giant in strength 
and activity, cultured and well informed on current and 
general topics, a man of fine presence and wonderfully at- 
tractive in manner and appearance. Noah Gillespie was 
financially interested with Dan in a proposed manufac- 
turing project in Idaho. Our Daniel, like his great proto- 
type, was something of a prophet and seer, indeed also 
something of a philosopher, and his pronouncements were 
frequently invited. The similarity between our Noah 
and the great navigator of diluvian days lay chiefly in the 
fact that Gillespie also had met with much success in navi- 
gation — while propelling a canoe in duck hunting on the 
Wisconsin lakes. Moreover, so far as reported, the patri- 
arch drank too much wine on but one occasion, whereas 
our Noah excelled greatly in tarrying too often at the 
wine cup; but he was a good fellow and a valuable com- 
panion in time of peril. Noah and Dan had a fine team. 

A grand old man was Deacon Simeon E. Cobb, who now 
sat in the circle upon an empty cracker box, which he fre- 



A RIVER TOWN OF THE DAY 51 

quently used throughout the trip. He was trying the hfe 
on the plains in the hope of reheving himself of dyspepsia. 
He had a team and a light wagon with personal supplies, 
including a small tent. Henry Rundle and Aleck Freeman 
were also in the circle. They were vigorous, hardy and 
reliable men and they too had a team. The especial com- 
panions of the writer were Ben Frees and Fred Day. Ben 
was a compactly-built fellow of elephantine strength, and 
although only twenty years of age, had been a first-lieu- 
tenant in a Wisconsin regiment before Richmond at the 
surrender. Fred, who was still younger, was delicate but 
vivacious and buoyant and abounded in all those qualities 
that make for good fellowship. 

And now spoke Dan, saying, " Boys, it's all right where 
we are now, but only last summer on the Big Blue, only a 
little west of us, the Indians were raiding and destroyed 
nearly all the stations from there on, beyond and along the 
Platte. Keep your rifles in their proper places, loaded and 
in perfect order." "All right, Dan," said Fred, "we'll 
keep 'em loaded until we fire 'em off. " Each of the party 
had in his wagon a Henry repeating rifle and plenty of 
ammunition. Our supplies consisted chiefly of bacon, 
flour, coffee and sugar, no available canned goods then 
being on the market. With these preparations, we con- 
tinued in the morning out upon the broad plains. 



CHAPTER V 

Our Introduction to the Great Plains 

" Lives of great men all remind us 
We can make our lives sublime, 
And departing leave behind us, 
Footprints on the sands of time. " 

IT was in the gray light of the quiet early dawn, when 
all members of the camp except one were in peaceful 
slumber, that these familiar lines of Longfellow's 
heartening lyric were suddenly howled forth from the 
interior of Fred's tent. Coupled with the ill-mated refrain, 

"Co chee co lunk che lunk chelaly, " 
that dignified stanza had been often sung by boys like 
Fred, who persistently turned the serious things of life to 
levity. Because of frequent showers it had been really 
decided to make an early morning start, if conditions 
should prove favorable. Ordinarily Fred did not aspire 
to catch the worm, and in fact, after rousing the camp 
he lapsed back into his blanket and was the last man out 
for further service, in remarkable fulfillment of the famous 
Scripture. He had brought his companion, Ben, to his 
feet, who inflicted on him some harmless punishment for 
his breach of the peace. 

Aroused by Fred's ill-timed outburst, I poked my head 

52 



OUR INTRODUCTION TO THE GREAT PLAINS 53 

outside my wagon cover and surveyed the situation. The 
white-covered prairie schooners were parked in a row, as 
they had been on the preceding night. The two httle 
tents, one of which sheltered the venerable deacon, stood 
side by side. Not far distant our horses were picketed by 
ropes. At this first indication of human activity, the 
faithful animals one by one scrambled to their feet, shook 
their manes, and doubtless expected the usual supply of 
morning oats, in which expectation they were doomed to 
disappointment, for hereafter they had to make an honest 
living by foraging on the country. There was sufiicient 
light to reveal the sparkling of the heavy dew upon the 
grass. Fred's matin song had accomplished its purpose, 
and many good-natured but vigorous epithets were thun- 
dered toward his tent by members of the party as they 
emerged from their wagons, and he himself was finally 
pulled forth from his lair. 

It seems needless to state that to some members of our 
party who were early pioneers of Wisconsin, a primeval 
forest, or a broad, virgin prairie was not an unfamiliar 
sight. Nevertheless, there was something in the expanse 
of the Nebraska plains as they then were, before the farmer 
had desecrated them, that was wonderfully impressive. 
The almost boundless stretch of undulating green extend- 
ed in every direction to the horizon, at times unrelieved 
by a single tree or shrub, and only now and then we ob- 
served the winding course of some little stream indicated 
by a narrow line of small timber half hidden in the valley, 
whose inclined and stunted growth told of the sweeping 
winds that had rocked them. Even those thin green lines 
were few and far between. 

Bryant beautifully described this type of scenery when 
he wrote of the prairies : 



54 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

" Lo, they stretch 

In airy undulations far away, 

As if the ocean in its gentlest swell 

Stood still, with all its billows fixed 

And motionless forever. " 

We finally reached a little, solitary sod hut,which a pioneer 
had recently constructed. Not another work of man was 
visible in any direction. If Cowper sighing "for a lodge 
in some vast wilderness" had been placed in control of 
this sequestered cabin, his ardent desire would have been 
fully realized. It seemed as if it might well afford to any 
one grown weary of the wrong and outrage with which 
earth is filled, a spot where he might spend his remaining 
days in unbroken peace and quietude. But no! this 
cabin was but a little speck in advance of the on-coming 
tide of human life whose silent flow we had seen slowly 
but steadily creeping westward across the Iowa prairies. 
Thousands of men released from service in the army were 
turning to the West for homes, and the tens of thousands 
of foreigners landing at the Atlantic ports were then as 
now spreading over the country, adding volume and mo- 
mentum to the westward movement. 

The following night found us beside a little brook, on the 
banks of which wild strawberries were abundant. Our 
horses were picketed on the range, each being tied with a 
rope fifty feet in length, attached to an iron pin driven into 
the ground, as was the usual custom. Aleck Freeman, how- 
ever, concluded to tie the lariat of one of his horses to the 
head of a nearby skeleton of an ox. In fact, Aleck com- 
mented duly upon his own sagacity in conceiving that idea. 
All went well until the horse in pulling upon the rope, de- 
tached the skull from the remaining vertebrae. The ani- 



OUR INTRODUCTION TO THE GREAT PLAINS 55 

mal seemed to be mystified on observing the head approach 
him as he receded, and for a moment regarded it thought- 
fully and inquiringly. Backing still further away, he 
gazed with growing apprehension at the white skull, which 
continued to pursue him at a uniform distance. The horse 
evidently was unable to comprehend the cause of this 
strange proceeding and, like a child frightened at an ap- 
parition which it does not understand, his first impulse 
was to escape. He therefore gave a vigorous snort, 
wheeled, and with head high in the air, suddenly started 
southward toward the Gulf of Mexico. The faster the 
horse ran, the louder rattled the skull behind him. An 
occasional backward glance of the flying animal revealed 
to him the same white skull still pursuing, and at times 
leaping threateningly into the air as it was pulled over any 
slight obstruction; and thus they sped wildly away until 
they disappeared from sight. Aleck watched the affair 
from afar with dismay. What could stop the flight of this 
Pegasus but sheer exhaustion? It was soon many miles 
away. Securing another steed and starting in pursuit, he 
too was soon lost to view. In the late hours of the night 
he returned to camp leading the tired runaway, and himself 
too tired and hungry to tell his story until morning. It 
seems that about seven or eight miles away the skull had 
caught in a cotton wood bush, which was fortunately on an 
upward grade and the speed of the horse was temporarily 
slackened. The animal doubtless believed that the skull 
for the moment had stopped its pursuit, that it also was 
very weary. The horse when reached was well fastened 
and easily captured. Aleck urged that the Government 
authorities should have cottonwood bushes set out on all 
the hills of Nebraska, and that the heads of all carcasses on 
the prairie should be securely tied to the rest of the skeleton. 



56 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

Violent storms of wind and driving rain, accompanied by 
terrific lightning,f orced us at noon to camp in the mud beside 
a swollen brook. We endeavored to build a fire in the wet 
grass, for we sighed for coffee. The combined skill of our 
best hunters failed to start a blaze. We were wet to the 
skin, and our saturated boots with trousers inside, down 
which the water ran in streams, were loaded with black 
Nebraskan mud ; for every man had been out in the storm 
to picket his horses securely, as they were uneasy during 
the tempest. The few chunks of tough bread culled from 
the remnant found in the mess box served but little that 
night to fill the aching voids. 

Not far away on a hill slope was an unoccupied frame 
house not yet completed. This building, which was 
about twenty-five miles west from Nebraska City, was the 
last farmhouse that we passed, but even here there was no 
sign of cultivation. To this, as the day was closing, we 
plowed our way through the mud, for the storms continued. 
Its partly finished roof furnished us a welcome protection 
through the following stormy night. A peck of shavings 
more or less was equitably distributed among the party 
for bedding, but there were no facilities for building a fire 
without igniting the structure itself. On the floor we en- 
deavored, with our internal heat, to steam our garments 
dry. We had previously observed a few huts built of sod, 
with roofs of the same material laid upon poles. I ascer- 
tained that at least one of those structures was strength- 
ened by a framework of logs, but the scarcity of timber and 
the expense of transporting it from where it was produced, 
led to the use of the more available material. The huts 
were similar in appearance to many that I have seen in 
Ireland, though the fibrous Irish sod cut from the bogs of 
the Emerald Isle is more durable — like all else that is Irish ! 



OUR INTRODUCTION TO THE GREAT PLAINS 57 

A few ducks and plover had fallen before the Noachian 
and were gladly appropriated in the mess department, but 
we were on the qui vive for bigger game. We had been 
tantalized daily by dubious reports of antelope alleged to 
have been seen in the distance, and had been anxiously 
watching for an opportunity to test our Henry rifles on 
this elusive game. 

Paul Beemer was a veritable Nimrod, always vigilant, 
frequently scanning the horizon for signs of animal life. 
Riding ahead of the wagons, he suddenly announced the 
discovery of antelope on a far away hillside. It was a 
long detour for Paul to outflank his game and get to the 
leeward of it. "Not this time, Paul, " said Dan, but Paul 
made the attempt, and the airy creatures, whatever they 
may have been, were quickly gone from his gaze like a 
beautiful dream. Noah, who claimed to have had a good 
view of the animals, declared that they were foxes, but 
Paul indignantly replied that his own verdict was abso- 
lutely final. 

After six days' progress through storms and mud, we 
crossed tributaries of the Big Blue River, where the preced- 
ing year numerous Indian raids had occurred and many 
travelers had been massacred. We had not as yet seen a 
Red Man since we left Nebraska City. The sun was now 
shining brightly on the scene of the recent carnage, but we 
discovered no trace of those disastrous struggles with the 
savage warriors of the plains. I wandered off from the 
trail alone. Not a moving object dotted the graceful un- 
dulations of the green prairie, which lay peaceful in the 
June sunlight. Not a sound came from hill or valley. 
The perfect silence was impressive. It is well now and 
then to be thus alone, where no distraction turns one's 
thoughts from the serene face of Nature. 



58 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

Despite all this apparent serenity, we knew not what 
enemy might lurk in those unseen valleys, which lately 
were the hiding places of bands of the subtle Sioux. We 
had already perfected our organization for protection, as 
was then the practice with all trains in the West. Each 
man took his turn standing guard at night, the first watch 
being until midnight, when the next in order was called to 
remain on duty until the cook for the week was summoned 
in the morning. Deacon Cobb was excused from this 
service, despite the Gospel injunction on all to watch as 
well as pray, as was also the cook during his week of serv- 
ice. 

This cooking '*proposition" presented something of a 
problem. The training which we had received in domestic 
science was rude and elementary, even compared with that 
now given in colleges for women. The so-called bread, 
which was in general the only article that was prepared 
and baked for our use, was seldom fit for human nourish- 
ment. The flour was stirred with water. A little short- 
ening and soda were introduced with no well defined idea 
as to the proper quantity of each. This chemical com- 
pound was put into a skillet, a cast iron pan having a cover 
of the same material, with a short handle. It was then 
placed upon the open camp fire, which was made of such 
combustible substances as the country afforded, rarely 
wood. The duration of the baking process was regulated 
by that inestimable faculty which Yankee housewives call 
* 'gumption." Few if any of our party were endowed there- 
with in high degree. Sometimes our bread was of the con- 
sistency of putty; at other times the surface of the loaf was 
burned to a blackened crisp. But we did improve by prac- 
tice, profiting by the censorious comments of the disgusted 
eaters who for the time were not managing the mess. We 



OUR INTRODUCTION TO THE GREAT PLAINS 59 

had no vegetables, milk, butter, or eggs. Bacon was the 
staple article of diet. The coffee was boiled in an open 
kettle, and served as black as night and strong as it was 
black. The earth was our table and all our tableware was 
tin. There were no lines of caste by which the cook was 
relegated to a lower social level than the banqueters, and 
if any one should too severely criticise the flavor of his 
coffee the cook would be apt to rise to the dignity of his 
office, seize the iron skillet, and threaten to terminate the 
existence of persistent grumblers. And Deacon Cobb 
highly relished this diet of bread nearly as tough as cork 
and took it with fresh air as a possible specific for dyspepsia 
and therewithal professed to be truly thankful. 

Later observations made after we reached the main line 
of travel indicated that similar fare and experience were 
enjoyed or endured by other travelers. It was a matter 
of common remark that those who in seriousness did the 
most kicking concerning the food were such as either drank 
the most whiskey or did the least work, yet it is also true 
that both the mind and the maw must be in prime condi- 
tion to respond uncomplainingly at all times to the rough 
fare of camp life, such as we provided. Very interesting 
it was to watch the rapid cleansing of the culinary utensils 
after breakfast, for an early start was usually desired. 
There were three methods of accomplishing this work, 
which in our camp were technically known as sanding, 
grassing and washing. The first two processes were re- 
garded as preferable, chiefly by reason of the fact that the 
work involved could be accomplished with greater expedi- 
tion. It may be explained that sanding consists in revolv- 
ing the dish or kettle in the soil, preferably sand, — which 
is certainly an economical method. Grassing is simply 
the use of grass or any similar material for the same pur- 



60 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

pose. Washing is a more complicated and laborious 
process, as the water sometimes must be brought some dis- 
tance, and water without soap fails to develop any chemi- 
cal aflSnity for the residuum of fried bacon. An occasional 
sanding kept the plates in such excellent condition that at 
times it could be plainly seen or at least gravely suspected 
that they were tinware. The sanitary condition of the 
culinary department was as good as circumstances would 
permit. The provisions which may have been cooked and 
were being transported to another camp, or articles which 
had been prepared for cooking, were carried on the tail end 
of the wagon in what was known as the mess box, a simple 
box with a lid. No flies or other insects were permitted to 
enter the box except such as could pass through the half- 
inch opening beneath the cover; and any accumulated dust 
that had gathered upon the food during the day's journey 
was carefully shaken from it, at least in good measure. 

A short distance west of the Big Blue, we made a de- 
scent upon a village of prairie dogs, the first that we had 
seen. Paul and I quickly despatched two of the inhabi- 
tants. Scores of the little rodents sat upon the mounds, 
which were only a few feet apart, marking the entrances to 
their subterranean homes, into which many of them would 
instantly drop like a flash on the slightest cause of alarm. 
These were the alert and vigilant sentinels which until dan- 
ger threatened sat upright and motionless upon their earth- 
works and appeared like inanimate objects. The heroic few, 
which after an alarm faithfully remained upon their para- 
pets, uttered frequent shrill, short barks, each accompanied 
by a vigorous wiggle of their dark little tails. What useful 
function this wiggling subserved I know not, unless it was 
a semaphoric signal to their comrades in the intrench- 
ments beneath, but the wiggle aided in making the little 



OUR INTRODUCTION TO THE GREAT PLAINS 61 

animals more conspicuous and therefore easier marks. 
The prairie dog villages in that day frequently covered 
areas of sixty or seventy acres and undoubtedly sheltered 
a dense population. We frequently inspected the exterior 
of their premises, but during that investigation all was as 
silent as a city of the dead, and one would hardly suspect 
that a labyrinth of corridors abounding in active life ex- 
isted beneath the surface. 

In the middle of one forenoon, out upon that treeless, 
rolling prairie, all were riding lazily along, when someone 
observed a covered wagon far off at the right, just as it 
was descending behind a gentle slope. Was it possible that 
there could be another trail to the North .^^ If there was, 
it was equally true that we might be on the wrong course, 
for we were supposed to be steering for the Platte River, 
which was also in the same direction. An investigation 
revealed the fact that one of our wagons was missing. 
Mounting a horse I rode rapidly over the prairie and in half 
an hour overtook the prairie schooner which was marking 
an entirely new trail of its own across the virgin green. 
Riding up beside the horses and looking in beneath the 
canvas, I discovered one occupant, and that was Uncle 
Simeon Cobb, who in a sleep as peaceful as that of child- 
hood was unconscious of the fact that in his advanced years 
he was wandering far away from the true path out into an 
unknown wilderness. 

"Hello, Deacon," I shouted, and the old gentleman 
slowly roused himself from his slumbers and after rubbing 
his eyes looked out upon the pathless prairie. "Well, by 
George," he remarked, passing to the extreme limit of his 
profane vocabulary, "I must have been asleep." His 
horses being halted, I explained to him how he happened 
to be discovered. Our little train was already out of sight 



6^ THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

and he promptly admitted that he was unable to tell from 
which side of the trail his horses had turned; and the tracks 
of his light wagon not being distinct he could hardly have 
retraced his course. The deacon was invariably calm and 
self-possessed and with a keen sense of the humorous in 
every situation. He therefore gravely stated that it 
seemed providential that he should be reclaimf d from his 
wanderings in time for lunch. Having been escorted back 
to the train, it was decided that in the future he should not 
drive at the tail end of the procession, as he had done pre- 
vious to that time. 

The night of the 16th was glorious with a waxing moon. 
It was my turn on guard for the watch until midnight. As 
I sauntered off toward where the stock was picketed, with 
my rifle on my shoulder, my attention was called to the in- 
cessant yelp of the prairie wolves. In my timid excur- 
sions into Greek mythology I had read something of Or- 
pheus and his lyre. The recollection of the alleged power 
of his melodies over animate and inanimate objects, led 
me quietly to enter our wagon and take out the violin with 
which I had occasionally whiled away an hour; and seated 
on the ground I drew the bow to the best of my ability. 
The night was so still that the sound was doubtless carried 
a great distance and evidently reached the sensitive ears 
of numerous wolves on their nocturnal prowl. The re- 
sponse was certainly tremendous. In a few minutes I 
had an enthusiastic audience in the not far distance, which 
might have been regarded as highly complimentary had it 
not been quite so demonstrative. Strangely enough, the 
music failed to calm their spirits until I had ceased for a 
time to torture the catgut. Whenever the sound of the 
instrument reached them, the din of yelps was returned 
from all points of the compass. The prairie wolves are 



OUR INTRODUCTION TO THE GREAT PLAINS 63 

simply scavengers and though possibly subject to pleasur- 
able emotions (probably otherwise in the instance just 
given) yet their chief concern is to supply their ravenous ap- 
petites. Like vultures they scent the carrion from afar, and 
as it was Paul's week to cook they may have sniffed the 
aroma of his burnt bacon wafted to their acute olfactory 
nerves through the still air of the night. After the camp 
is vacated, and the wolves can find no food in a more 
advanced state of decomposition than the few morsels which 
the camper leaves behind, they will then regale themselves 
on the scraps left around the abandoned campfire. 

On the following day, after crossing many deep gullies, 
we struck the Platte River trail from Omaha, which fol- 
lows near the southern bank of that stream. 



CHAPTER VI 

The Oregon Trail 

WE were now upon the most frequented 
thoroughfare of western transcontinental 
travel, known as the old Oregon trail, 
and this course was pursued for the suc- 
ceeding two weeks. It was the route taken by Major 
Stephen Long, who in 1820 explored this valley as far west 
as the junction of the North and the South Platte. It also 
appears to have been followed by Captain E. D. Bonne- 
ville and his company in 1832, and in 1834 and 1839 by 
Whiteman and Spalding, the missionaries to Oregon; 
also by Colonel John C. Fremont in 1842, when on his 
first exploring expedition. 

While these western trails may not have been the 
scenes of conflict in which numbers were engaged on any 
one occasion, nevertheless, for two generations they have 
doubtless been the theatre of a greater number of encoun- 
ters with Indians than have ever occurred in any other 
equal area of our country. The reasons for this become 
apparent on a moment's thought. The numerous tribes 
that occupied this vast territory were in every sense of 
the word warriors, having had experience in their peculiar 
mode of warfare in frequent conflicts between the tribes. 
The majority were expert horsemen, which peculiarly 

64 






*>.'■ 



THE OREGON TRAIL 65 

fitted them for guerrilla tactics. The California, Pike's 
Peak, and Mormon settlements formed nuclei for a rapidly 
increasing population, the supplies for which were trans- 
ported chiefly by this thoroughfare across the plains, 
which until a later date remained the undisputed home 
of these nomadic tribes. 

The travel across this broad stretch of Indian territory 
was in the main confined to a very few well defined path- 
ways through an open, unprotected country on which the 
strength of a traveling outfit could be fairly estimated by 
the enemy concealed in the many hiding places in ravines 
intersecting the prairie, so that freighter and emigrant 
were exposed to unexpected forays at any moment, and 
especially when the relations with the Indians were not 
entirely friendly. It was exceedingly difficult, at times, 
for the traveler to ascertain with certainty what was the 
present spirit of any tribe. An unprovoked wrong in- 
flicted by some one reckless white man upon an Indian 
was liable to be avenged by an attack on some train, the 
owners of which were ignorant of the inciting cause. In 
like manner, the insult of a white by an Indian led to the 
conclusion that the tribe was hostile and on the war-path, 
and the freighters governed themselves accordingly. 
The reckless destruction of buffaloes by the whites was 
the cause of intense bitterness on the part of the Indians; 
and moreover, the ill-adjusted relations between our War 
Department and the tribes, to which we may make future 
reference, were not always favorable to a friendly attitude 
on the part of the Indian. 

This Oregon trail, however, as far as it followed the 
main channel of the Platte River, had now become a well- 
traveled, natural road. Because of the fact that the 
country remote from this stream was arid and devoid of 



66 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

water courses, the Platte valley was the only practicable 
route for freighting, except the one far south along the 
tributaries of the Arkansas. 

On my first opportunity I took a stroll back from the 
river to the bluffs, which were three or four miles distant, 
and which mark the boundary between the valley and the 
higher lands to the south, with a view to ascertaining 
if there were any evidence of civilization beyond. The 
air was wonderfully clear, dry, and hot. There was a 
marked contrast between this country and the prairies of 
Eastern Nebraska. The thin grass was parched and 
brown, and the surface of the valley was barren and 
apparently lifeless. A solitary black buzzard, poised 
upon a carcass which I passed, added but little of attrac- 
tive life to the inanimate scenery. 

Observing the skeletons and carcasses of numerous 
buffaloes it occurred to me to count those which I might 
pass on my walk to the foothills. The number observed 
near my path reached nearly two hundred. There are 
but few objects that could be more suggestive of desolation 
than were these huge, bleaching skeletons. The killing 
of the greater number of these buffaloes was doubtless a 
result of the vandalism of so-called sportsmen, who regard- 
ed even the crippling of a few of these noble animals as a 
laudable achievement, even though the buffaloes were 
shot while in a compact herd of a thousand or more. 
Hundreds of thousands of their bodies were scattered over 
the country, especially near the river valleys of Kansas 
and Nebraska. From personal observation, it was evident 
that a great number of them were not killed by the In- 
dians, because the skins, which were of value for their own 
uses, and for traffic with the whites, in many instances had 
not been removed. 



THE OREGON TRAIL 6T 

Later in these records reference will be made to the vast 
numbers of these valuable animals, which we saw further 
South. In the interesting w Drk of Colonel Henry Inman, 
statistics are given concerning the number of buffaloes 
killed in the thirteen years 1868 to 1881. He states that 
the facts as written were carefully gathered from the 
freight departments of the railroads, which kept a record 
of the bones that were shipped; and the quantities were 
verified from the purchase of the carbon works at various 
points from which was paid out the money for the bones. 
These figures show that during the period named there 
was paid out $2,500,000 for buffalo-bones gathered on 
the prairies of Kansas alone; and at the rate paid this 
sum represented the skeletons of more than thirty millions 
of buffaloes, a number that seems almost incredible. 
Sheridan, Custer, Sully, and Inman report having ridden 
in 1868, two years later than my visit, for three consecutive 
days through one continuous herd which must have con- 
tained many millions. The writer had a similar experi- 
ence in the autumn of 1866. The wanton destruction of 
the last of these magnificent and valuable animals is but a 
single illustration of the folly and improvidence of the 
American people in dealing with their magnificent natural 
resources, and their disregard for the comfort and the needs 
of future generations. 

The bluffs on the margin of the valley which have been 
already referred to, were next ascended. From them, 
looking outward over the high, rolling, and arid plains 
beyond, nothing could be seen except one interminable 
brown, with hardly a shrub visible, to relieve the dull 
monotony. Toward the north and skirted by a strip of 
Cottonwood trees and brush, the turbid river glistened in 
the glaring light, its chocolate-colored waters bearing to 



68 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

the distant gulf its unceasing tribute of clay and sand. 
Here and there its tawny breast was scarred v«^ith barren 
sand bars, but over all the broad landscape nothing could 
be discerned that was the product of human agency save 
the distant trail near the river, along which our train was 
lazily creeping, like a wounded anaconda. 

Buzzing around me, as if seeking some companionship 
on that lonely bluff, was a solitary bee. For some time I 
watched its erratic movements, hoping to discover the 
nature of its engagements. I could see nothing, except 
here and there a cactus or a thistle, from which it seemed 
possible that it could extract the sweets needed for future 
use. It was possibly an adventurer that had drifted off 
as I had done, from the parent colony. Bryant writes of 
this busy insect in words which, if applied to the future of 
this then desolate plain, seem prophetic: 

"the bee" 

"A colonist more adventurous than man 
With whom he came across the eastern deep, 
Fills the Savannas with his murmurings, 
And hides his sweets, as in the golden age. 
Within the hollow oak. I listen long 
To his domestic hum, and think I hear 
The sound of that advancing multitude 
Which soon shall fill these deserts. From the ground 
Comes up the laughter of children, the soft voice 
Of maidens, and the sweet and solemn hymn 
Of Sabbath worshippers. The low of herds 
Blends with the rustling of the heavy grain 
Over the dark brown furrows. All at once 
A fresher wind sweeps by and breaks my dream. 
And I am in the wilderness alone. " 



THE OREGON TRAIL 69 

So vividly was mirrored in the poet's fancy the future of 
the Nebraskan desert. I must confess my inability, as I 
sat alone on the highest lump of earth available, to have 
in any degree forecast the future of that country, for I 
would have hardly given my jack-knife for all the land in 
sight, with forty years' exemption from taxes. Yet to me 
this waste was profoundly interesting and impressive, not 
unlike the great deserts of Africa, although I could see in 
it no promise or potence of prosperity. To one who has 
personally observed the final reclamation of those broad 
lands, the words of Bryant picture with wonderful accur- 
acy the transformation that really has taken place, and 
my own early observations now seem like a dream. 

In proof that my impressions were shared by others, 
we may quote the statement of Colonel William A. Phil- 
lips, that at the Wyandotte convention, which was held 
about that time, the line of the future state of Nebraska 
was being drawn at the 100th meridian, which was sup- 
posed to be the border of the desert region. An attempt 
was being made to annex to it all the land south of the 
Platte, and delegates from Nebraska were in attendance 
to urge it. One delegate, a Mr. Taylor, who seemed 
thoroughly penetrated with the annexation idea, urged 
that the Platte River had a quicksand bottom, and could 
not be forded; that it could not be bridged, because there 
was no bottom, for piers ; and that it could not be ferried, 
for want of water. In short, in the minds of many, 
W^estern Nebraska, with its river, its climate, and its 
expanse of sterile soil, was of no value except to hold other 
portions of the earth together. But there lay the great 
undeveloped West, its prairies and beyond these its 
mountains, an inert expanse ready to be developed into 
vast productive states rich in soil and minerals. 



70 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

Returning to the train after my long tramp, we lunched, 
and after the usual noonday rest for the stock, mounted 
our horses and proceeded on our afternoon drive. We had 
not advanced far, when we saw that we were approaching 
a single covered wagon some distance ahead, near which 
were riding two young ladies, and a gentleman of fine 
appearance. Ben and Fred commented with much satis- 
faction on the agreeable prospect of meeting two interest- 
ing girls in whom they might find occasional companion- 
ship on the long journey that lay before us. 

The gentleman addressed us cordially and naturally 
inquired whither we were bound. As a fact, we could not 
state definitely what our route would be beyond Julesburg, 
except that our first objective point was Salt Lake City. 
W^e learned that he with his family was destined for Den- 
ver, where he expected to follow his profession as physician. 
He ventured to introduce us to his daughters, one of whom 
was a brunette; the other bore a wealth of bright auburn 
hair, and was of fair complexion, except that a little tan 
and a few freckles, caused by the Nebraska sun and 
breezes, were noticeable. Their ages were between eigh- 
teen and twenty-one years, about the same as my com- 
panions. Fred was an attractive, cheerful young fellow, 
an agreeable converser, and always popular at home. 
Ben was more vigorous physically, and at once impressed 
one with his sterling qualities and good sense. So Dr. 
Brown, as we may now call him, expressed pleasure at the 
prospect of sharing with us the adventures of the journey. 
We camped near a ranch which a few months before had 
been attacked by the Indians. 

Along this road, as far as Julesbm-g, these so-called 
ranches, strewn from eight to twelve miles apart, were 
maintained chiefly in the interest of Ben Holliday's stage 



THE OREGON TRAIL 71 

line, for the care of the horses, which were exchanged at 
such stations. With few exceptions, the buildings were 
made of adobe and contained two rooms. No attempt 
even at simple gardening was made; in fact, we observed 
no phase of agriculture along this route. Some of the 
buildings were partially surrounded by a wall built of 
sods, as an enclosure for the horses. The interior was for 
the main part a grog shop, with a combined sleeping and 
cooking room attached at the rear. 

On the 18th of June, when fully ten miles from Fort 
Kearney, the flag of that post became visible in the dis- 
tance, as we looked up the level valley. Ben and Paul 
hastened in advance to ascertain where we might camp. 
They returned to meet us, with the information that two 
miles in each direction from the Fort extended the Gover- 
ment reservation, and that a notice had been posted on 
the wayside forbidding the driving of teams across that 
property. On reaching these sacred precincts, we rode 
through on horseback and discovered that there was 
really no fort at Fort Kearney. There was a small plaza 
or park, bordered by cottonwood trees, in the center of 
which stood the flagstaff from which floated the nation's 
colors; near by were mounted two or three small brass 
cannon; around the plaza were built the barracks and 
officers' quarters, with other buildings used apparently by 
officers. A soldier was pacing back and forth before the 
open door of the magazine, and another was performing a 
similar duty in front of the guardhouse, from which came 
the notes of a familiar melody sung by the recreants within, 
who were making the best of their confinement. The 
only semblance of a fortification was an adobe wall facing 
the bluffs. The fort was garrisoned by two companies of 
the 5th U. S. Volunteers. 



n THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

Fort Kearney is the oldest white settlement in the 
interior of Nebraska, and was named after a general who 
served in the Mexican war. A station two miles west 
from the Government post was dignified by the name of 
Kearney City and embraced half a dozen small adobe 
structures, each of which was said to be a whiskey dive; 
its small population of men and women was apparently 
of a worthless type. The spot was usually referred t ) as 
D Dbytown. The post itself was abandoned long ag ). 

We learned f r )m the provost, that by order of the War 
Department, no trains were allowed to move westward 
with less than twenty wagons and thirty armed men. As 
yet we had seen no Indians, and travelers from the West 
made the same observation, but stated great numbers of 
Indians were reported to be in the vicinity of Laramie, 
where they were being fed and petted by Government 
agents as preliminary to an effort to make a treaty. Many 
travelers affirmed that the Indian agents were temporizing 
and procrastinating, and that some officers did not desire 
permanent peace, believing that it would make unneces- 
sary certain fat offices then existing, and would also check 
opportunities for the profitable barter which was being 
conducted with the tribes. 

The demands of these latter appeared to be that the 
Powder River country and the Smoky Hill route should 
be absolutely abandoned by the whites and left in the 
undisturbed possession of the Indians. The Red Man 
could not fail to recognize the fact that he was losing his 
most valuable hunting grounds by the encroachment of 
civilization, and the current belief among the whites was 
that the Sioux were preparing to make trouble. In view 
of the general interest in the subject which prevailed, it 
was natural for travelers to exchange views upon it with 



THE OREGON TRAIL 1'S 

those who might have any new information; and a stage 
station ranchman a few miles from Kearney also gave us 
his views on the situation. This man, after advancing 
some opinions concerning the personnel of the troops that 
had been sent for their protection (views that were any- 
thing but complimentary), said that a common expres- 
sion among those not well informed was that one white 
man was enough for ten Indians. In front of the little 
ranch where we then stood, he had recently been witness 
to the fact that six Indians armed only with bows and 
arrows had driven ten cavalrymen, armed with carbines 
and revolvers, back into the ranch, where they were sup- 
ported by a greater number of troops. We asked if any 
of the soldiers had been wounded. "Yes," he replied, 
"one of them intercepted an arrow^ which fortunately did 
not enter a vital part, but it did penetrate certain muscles 
in his back, which made it painful for him to sit. " The 
action of the troops was reported in such glowing terms 
to the Department by the officer in command that the 
soldier who was shot in the back and could not sit, re- 
ceived a medal for his bravery. This, however, was not 
a fair report concerning the valor of our soldiers as a 
whole, for before that year ended some of them performed 
heroic acts and deeds of daring hardly surpassed in history. 
We camped away from the trail, to the west of the post 
and in sight of the miserable huts of Dobytown. There 
was but little feed for the stock, yet we had t3 remain. 
It was either at Dobytown or at the post itself, that a 
party of travelers who were parked near us secured a box 
containing bottles labelled "Hostetter's Bitters." These 
so-called stomach bitters were a widely advertised con- 
coction purporting to be a valuable tonic and a never 
failing remedy for dyspepsia, and all the other ills that 



74 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

the stomach, and the inner man generally, is ever heir to. 
If the extraordinary box said to have been presented by 
Zeus to Pandora is worthy of mention as a magazine of 
innumerable pent-up ills, which a girl unwittingly turned 
loose among men, then surely the eminent Dr. Hostetter 
should have a high place in the classic lore of the future, 
as the fabricator of a bottled-up compound, which when 
uncorked, had wonderful potentialities, not in curing ills 
but in raising the devil generally. As already stated, the 
men purchased the box of bitters, which (as an eye-witness 
I testify) was as innocent in appearance as a box of bottles 
of pepper sauce. They also used the contents freely as a 
beverage, and soon were raving drunk. Having neither 
tasted nor analyzed this potent and invincible anti-dyspep- 
tic and gastric regenerator, I know naught of its peculiar 
constitution and virtue, but am informed that its base is a 
poor grade of raw whiskey and is in fact the concentrated 
extract of "drunk." Having become absolutely delirious 
from their potations of the infallible specific, the revel- 
lers returned to the dens of Dobytown and began a season 
of Saturnalia which had not ended when we moved from 
that camp. Supplies of the tonic were secured by another 
party and enjoyed with similar results. 

As we traveled on we learned that the wonderful de- 
mand for this nervine was in some measure due to the 
convenient form in which it was sold; and that these 
bitters were the element frequently used in barter with 
the Indians, and for which they were ready to exchange 
their most valued possessions. Some men wonder why 
the Red Man is at times so insane in his brutality. The 
uncorking of bottles of bitters of this general type has 
caused more than one of our protracted wars with the 
Indians, and a cost of millions of dollars to our Govern- 




/A/ I 






> 



^*,.r ,.» 



.< 



-* 

I 



■i,' 







tu k; 






o o 

U^ < 

u w 

O X 




THE OREGON TRAIL 75 

ment, a fact that is attested by incontrovertible evidence. 
There were indeed other and more notable causes of our 
Indian wars. It must be understood that the savages knew 
nothing of our national boundaries made by treaty with 
Great Britain. Some tribes with which we have been at 
war roamed freely on both sides of that line. Every one 
of our territories from Wisconsin to the Pacific has fur- 
nished scenes of Indian conflicts with the Whites. Yet 
in some way, Canada has avoided these expensive experi- 
ences too terrible to describe. As we follow our vagabond 
life with the emigrants, and from time to time see the 
Indians in their various encounters, and dodge the mas- 
sacres that befall our companions, we hope incidentally to 
discover some of the reasons why our Government has 
failed to cope successfully with this problem. 



CHAPTER VII 

Society in the Wilderness 

LATE in the afternoon of June 18th, when the tm 
supper dishes had been laid aside and the men 
were enjoying their after-dinner smoke, the 
four closely parked groups of wagons, compris- 
ing as many camps separated from each other by perhaps 
a hundred feet in distance, seemed for the time to be in a 
condition of perfect serenity. The members of each party 
by itself were quietly awaiting developments. 

Dan and I strolled out toward the fort, and from a dis- 
tance watched the movements of mounted men at that 
post. Soon we observed a long mule train approaching 
from the east beyond Kearney. It halted for a few 
moments, and then like a huge serpent it slowly circled 
round the reservation; and })y orders from the guards its 
wagons were finally corralled beyond our camp. 

As was the custom with all large outfits, the train, 
although moving in an unbroken line, consisted of two 
divisions. On being ordered to corral, the head wagon of 
the first division made a sharp detour to the right, followed 
by the succeeding teams, and finally turning to the left, 
that division formed a great semi-circle. The first team 
was halted at a designated point at which was to be the 
opening of the proposed corral; and each of the mules of 

76 



SOCIETY IN THE WILDERNESS 77 

the succeeding teams of that division was made to swing 
suddenly to the left after bringing the great wagons rather 
close together. On reaching the point from which the 
first division made its detour^ the head team in the second 
division swung sharply out in the opposite direction, turn- 
ing again as it advanced to meet the leading team in the 
first division, and before stopping, each of the teams of the 
second division was also made to swing suddenly toward 
the center of what became a great circle or enclosure in 
which all the mules were unharnessed and temporarily 
confined. This method of corralling was universal with 
western freighters. 

In case of an unexpected attack, or for other obvious rea- 
sons a fortification of wagons was quickly made, with all 
the stock massed within the enclosure, and the work was 
accomplished in the time required for the train to travel 
its own length. The immense wagons of this train were 
of the type known as the Espenschied, a kind largely used 
by the Government. They were heavily built, with very 
high boxes projecting slightly both at the front and rear, 
like the ends of a scow boat, and like all wagons used on 
the plains, were roofed with regulation canvas tops sup- 
ported by bows. After the three hundred or more mules 
of this train had been unharnessed, they were driven in a 
herd from the mouth of the corral several miles from camp, 
to a place where they might find some feed in the valleys, 
there to be guarded through the night by herders. All the 
processes in these evolutions were commonplace to any 
plainsman, but may not be entirely familiar to modern 
palace car travelers. 

There also rolled round the Kearney reservation closely 
in the wake of the big train, a small outfit consisting of 
half a dozen wagons with horse teams. Under directions 



78 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

from the post, it also camped on the barren bottom land 
west of the fort. There was, therefore, now camped 
upon the arid plain beyond Dobytown a sufficient number 
of armed men and wagons to meet the requirements of 
the War Department for two trains. It was accordingly 
ordered that the big mule train should pull out in the 
morning, and the remaining outfits should unite and 
follow in another body. 

The muffled roar of the hoofs of the galloping mule herd, 
urged on by the yells of the mounted herders as they were 
rushing toward the corral, was the signal for the beginning 
of activities on the following morning. By the aid of the 
men the animals were driven into the enclosure. The 
vociferous braying of the mules mingled with the clamor- 
ous voices of the drivers, as each struggled to secure and 
bring into subjection his own big team of eight or ten 
mules. It was with remarkable celerity that the long- 
eared animals were harnessed to their respective wagons, 
and the command to roll out was given by the captain. 
Accompanied by the vehement shouts of the drivers and 
the cracking of whips, the train of forty wagons gradually 
uncoiled itself, stretching slowly out into the road, and 
in a solid line perhaps two-thirds of a mile in length 
"trekked" westward in a cloud of dust. 

The time for our own departure soon arrived, and all 
who remained of the campers on the plains of Dobytown 
were ordered to move on. Doctor Brown's two wagons 
and our own teams, lined out in the van, were followed 
by the two outfits with the Hostetter's Bitters, and the last 
arrival was in the rear. All were found to be properly 
armed, and all other requirements of the Government 
being satisfied, we were soon following the windings of 
the trail. Among other items of freight which were being 



SOCIETY IN THE WILDERNESS 79 

transported by our combined outfit, was a full wagon load 
of whiskey in four-gallon tin-box cans, and another wagon 
containing material for a distilling plant to be used in 
Idaho. 

The orders of the War Department did not provide 
that after leaving any post a train should thereafter con- 
tinue as a consolidated organization. To avoid unneces- 
sary dust, and for other reasons, it was therefore mutually 
agreed among the parties composing our train that we 
should separate at our convenience. 

With love for the country as God has made it, we 
gladly rolled out westward from Kearney City; away 
from the hybrid civilization, its dirty dives, its gambling 
dens and gamesters, who, like the flotsam on the crest of 
a rising flood, have too often been upon the surface near 
the front of western migration, depraving and demoral- 
izing even the savages. 

Although the writer has devoted much time to travel, 
none of his journeys has been the source of more pro- 
found interest than were the flrst months spent in those 
broad areas of the West in which there were no visible 
traces of the white man's presence. The cities and states 
of America have struggled to increase their population 
by immigration, apparently on the theory that the rate of 
that increase was to be the measure of growth in the 
happiness and prosperity of its people. When our na- 
tional heritage shall have been partitioned among the 
nations of the earth, and the wild, wooded hillsides shall 
have been denuded by axe and fire, giving place for farms 
and cities, then they whose fortune it has been in child- 
hood to roam through the primitive forests or over the 
yet free and trackless plains, would hardly exchange the 
memories of those years for a cycle on the streets of Con- 



80 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

stantinople or New York. Impelled by such sentiment, 
we soon separated from the train, to the mutual protec- 
tion of which we had been assigned by the officers at Fort 
Kearney, and with the Browns took our chances against 
the Indians. 

As soon as we were well away from the Fort, I again 
strayed out as I often did later, and with rifle upon my 
shoulder was soon striding over the highlands south of 
the river. It was a pleasant diversion to get out of the 
level valley, which at this point spread out some miles 
back to the bluffs. For a brief rest I selected an eligible 
spot, from which a wide view of the surrounding country 
was laid open. The atmosphere was wonderfully dry, 
clear, and exhilarating, and there seemed to be no sug- 
gestion of moisture either in the air or in all the broad 
landscape except in the muddy waters of the distant 
Platte. The thin grass, even thus early in the season, 
was scanty in growth and brown, as if touched by autumn. 

Along the banks of the river further east we had in 
places observed trees, chiefly cottonwood, but from the 
bluff where I now stood, hardly a bush was visible save 
only upon the islands in the river, nearly all of which, 
except such newly formed sand bars as from year to year 
are shifted by each successive flood, were rather well 
wooded, — I knew not, but wondered, why. 

Recalling to mind the prairies and openings of the North 
Mississippi River ountry, I remembered that in many 
cases those prairies ended at the banks of a stream, on 
the other side of which a dense and extensive forest began 
sharply at the water's edge. Fox, Bark and other /ivers, 
as they were sixty years ago, were fair illustrations of this 
fact, but now even those forests are gone. It seemed to 
me that timber must at some time have grown upon all 



SOCIETY IN THE WILDERNESS 81 

those Nebraska plains and prairies. The fact that trees 
still remained where protected by a stream would indicate 
that far-reaching and probably repeated fires have swept 
across those countries and stopped at the shore. The 
destruction of large areas of timber would increase the 
aridity of the climate, just as the later cultivation of 
what was once the plains has caused an increase in humid- 
ity. 

The belief to which such reflections seemed to guide 
me, that those western plains were once wooded, was 
strengthened by the discovery of large sections of petrified 
wood, which I found on the high and now treeless land 
farther west, apparently in situ, where they had grown. 
My side-trip out upon these uplands was inspired quite 
as much by a desire to hunt game, as to formulate theories 
concerning the prehistoric conditions of the country. 
Not strange, then, that I became suddenly interested in a 
small herd of antelopes, which I discerned some distance 
to the southward, the first that I had seen under favorable 
conditions. Knowing their senses of smell and hearing 
to be wonderfully acute, I felt confident that no approach 
could be successfully made from the windward side, and 
that my movements must be carefully concealed if I 
hoped to get within reach of the vigilant animals, for the 
Henry rifle was not a long range gun. Being familiar 
with the oft repeated story, that expert hunters frequently 
attach a bright red handkerchief to the top of a ramrod, 
the other end of which is stuck in the ground, and that 
this decoy will attract the antelope, I determined to adopt 
that stratagem. I had a silk handkerchief, as did many 
men in that day. As repeating rifles have no ramrods, 
and no bush or stick was available, I propped up the gun, 
surmounted by the handkerchief, upon a little mound in 



82 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

sight of the game, and lying on my face, concealed in a 
slight depression, waited patiently for developments. The 
wary animals were not enticed by the sham allurement. 

Any earnest hunter is willing to subject himself to any 
reasonable humiliation to achieve success. Therefore, 
upon my knees with rifle in one hand I crawled abjectly 
for a full hour over the gravelly soil, keeping to the lee- 
ward as much as possible. This devotional exercise was 
continued until I discovered that my trousers were worn 
through to the skin, and that the tissues were beginning to 
yield to abrasion, which threatened soon to reach through 
to the bones of my knees. 

The mess certainly needed meat; therefore I adopted 
other tactics. Abandoning the fruitless efforts to reach 
the game by stealth, I rose to my feet but was instantly 
discovered. I sent two or three shots at a venture as the 
little herd faced me, but the bullets fell short of the mark, 
and with a few bounds the game was over the hills and 
far away. It became clear to me that the capture of the 
alert antelope, on the open plain, is quite a different 
undertaking from the shooting of deer in the forest. It 
would have been a far greater pleasure, and quite as easy, 
to have written that I went back to the trail for horses, 
and again returned with two fine antelope which were 
proudly exhibited amid the grateful plaudits of the ad- 
miring camp! — but the statement would lack veracity if 
not verisimilitude. It is true, however, that we did secure 
several antelope later. 

A description of this out-of-door life would be incom- 
plete if it failed to give at least a glimpse of a certain type 
of unanticipated events, which now and then were un- 
folded in our pathway; exotics quite out of their native 
setting, like an oil painting in a woodshed. Now, on that 



SOCIETY IN THE WILDERNESS 83 

very night, Doctor Brown had pitched his big tent about 
a mile south of our camp. In the stillness of the evening, 
we heard issuing from it the sound of several voices in 
well rendered music. The familiar melodies were like a 
letter from home and in pleasing contrast with the yelp- 
ing of prairie wolves, to which we had grown accustomed. 

In the morning, when we moved out into line the 
Browns were in advance. The ladies sat upon their 
horses gracefully, as Kentucky girls usually do, using old- 
fashioned side saddles. The cow-girl saddle even in the 
West appears then not yet to have come into use. Fred 
addressed the young ladies, expressing appreciation of the 
music we heard on the preceding evening. They did not 
seem to have suspected that their voices would be heard 
at so great a distance. One of the boys, who rarely 
attempted to produce any music (except now and then a 
rollicking negro melody), spoke to the young ladies in 
unqualified praise of the music sometimes discoursed in 
our camp, whereupon the Doctor at once invited us to 
come over that evening and bring any noise-producing 
instruments that we might boast. W^ith some proper if 
not necessary apology for the undeserved compliment from 
our companion, we accepted the invitation, stating that 
we should come, not indeed in hope of contributing any- 
thing of value to the music, but in the pleasant expecta- 
tion of meeting Mrs. Brown and also of gaining more 
knowledge from the Doctor, who appeared to be a man 
from whom we might learn very much, as he seemed to be 
well informed in botany and geology. Incidentally (!) 
we hoped to meet the young ladies again. 

The regular evening chores having been performed, the 
boys proceeded to shave, and otherwise to prepare for the 
evening call. The bottom of their **pants" remained 



84 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

tucked in their long-topped boots, but shoeblacking was a 
luxury not to be obtained. Flannel shirts without coats 
and waistcoats were regarded as costume de rigueur for the 
place and occasion. Thus attired we sauntered over to 
the Browns just as the sun was sinking in the west. The 
young ladies had put some fresh ribbons in their hair, and 
were attractively dressed for such an al fresco gathering. 
The wagon seat was placed upon the ground and along 
with some boxes and a couple ^f camp chairs served us 
admirably. The preparations for the evening entertain- 
ment have been described in such detail solely that the 
events of the coming night may be better understood. 

We returned to our camp at a seasonable hour. The 
air of the early evening h£,d been unusually soft and still. 
Fred having already pitched his little tent, had turned 
into it with Ben for sleep, while I sought an eligible spot 
on the open ground, and rolled up in my blankets. Not 
long after midnight Paul, who was on guard, was startled 
by a vivid flash 3f lightning in the southwest. The 
sleepers were aroused, and peering out from their blankets 
saw signs of an approaching storm, for the fleecy clouds, 
which often presage the coming tempest were rolling in a 
threatening manner. It was thought prudent at once to 
drive the stakes of the tent more firmly, and tie down the 
wagon covers; this done we watched the rising clouds. 
We did not wait long, for hardly ten minutes had passed 
when the squall suddenly burst upon us with great fury, 
accompanied with a deluge of driving rain. The wagon 
covers creaked, and in two or three minutes the little tent 
was lifted and overturned. The horses picketed near-by 
were seen to run hither and thither in alarm, and some of 
them broke away. In the midst of the severest gust, a 
woman's voice in a tone indicating great alarm, came from 
the direction of the Doctor's camp. 



SOCIETY IN THE WILDERNESS 85 

"They are in trouble over at the Browns," said one. 

"And why not?" was the reply, as the tempest shrieked 
and the driving rain poured upon us. We could now do 
no good service where we were and therefore started 
rapidly in the direction of the Browns' tent, shouting, so 
as to be heard above the roar of the storm, that we were 
coming. Sure enough the family had been sleeping in 
their large wall tent, and the squall had lifted it into the 
air, leaving it flapping in the wind and held by one tent 
pin. 

Everything that had been within it was drenched with 
rain. The Browns were soaked and we were soaked, but 
what was worse, the gale had carried away upon its wings 
many light articles likely to be much needed in the morn- 
ing. They had not arranged their wagons for sleeping, as 
we had arranged ours, having relied upon their tents for 
such purposes. There they stood helpless in the driving 
storm, each of the ladies wrapped in such blanket or 
covering as she happened to snatch when the tent was 
lifted from over their heads. 

Each flash of lightning revealed for an instant the piti- 
able condition in which they were left. But they had 
doubtless passed through even greater trials than this in 
their exile from their old Kentucky home during the Civil 
War. When satisfied that the worst had passed, they 
forced a laugh in contemplating their ridiculous situation, 
and proposed to climb into their wagon and await the 
dawn. Mrs. Brown suggested that possibly they had a 
few dry articles there, but in the saturated condition in 
which they all were, with the water running down their 
wrappings, they would deluge everything in the wagon. 
We then informed the Doctor that Uncle Simeon Cobb, 
one of our party whom he had already seen, and a fine 



86 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

old gentleman, on a slight cessation of the storm would 
cheerfully migrate to another wagon from his own, an 
arrangement that would afford all the ladies fair protec- 
tion until morning. The Doctor, remarking that this 
reminded him of some phases of his life in the Confederate 
Army, gratefully accepted the offer. He decided to go 
with us, and then return to watch out the night and protect 
the family effects as best he could. The storm had nearly 
passed when the little party slowly made its way over the 
wet plain through the darkness to the Deacon's wagon, 
where Uncle Simeon was safe and dry in his double-covered 
prairie schooner. He had heard the crashing of the 
thunder and the shrieking of the gale, and readily com- 
prehended the situation on a brief explanation. His 
matches and lantern enabled him to light his apartment; 
and in the course of time he donned his waterproof, and 
came forth amid the ladies* expressions of deepest regret 
that they had been compelled to disturb his comfort. 
But they were thankful for a harbor of refuge. 

It was a great involuntary shower bath they had taken. 
One end of the Deacon's wagon was wet in the morning. 
When the day began to dawn, the sky was clear and 
bright. The Doctor then made many trips between the 
two camps. The dry clothes of the ladies which he 
excavated from the trunks in their wagon were transported 
in chunks, here a little and there a little, but in his clumsi- 
ness and ignorance of woman's requirements he seemed 
unable to produce the right articles. There were too 
many of one kind of garment or too few of another to 
clothe his family fully, in the conventional manner. As he 
tucked a tight bundle of white or colored goods under the 
Deacon's wagon cover, after but a moment of delay there 
came back through the canvas many sounds of distress 



SOCIETY IN THE WILDERNESS 87 

indicating the conviction that everything in the trunks 
was topsy-turvy and that garments were strung along his 
entire pathway. It was fully two hours before a full 
complement of apparel had been transported the half mile 
between the camps, so tha"^ the feminine members of the 
Brown family were able to emerge from under the wagon 
cover. Scattered around in the wagon there remained for 
future rescue many mysterious garments, diaphanous or 
bifurcated, all entirely out of place in the Deacon's apart- 
ment, but possibly of some use in the future society Hfe in 
Denver. When the sun had dried the surface of the 
ground, these and some others found elsewhere were col- 
lected, and the girls now arrayed in town clothes, having 
filed back to their camp soon appeared to be taking an 
inventory of what are conveniently termed dry -goods but 
which were now very wet. In the meantime the boys, 
jumping upon horses, rode in the direction taken by the 
storm; and here and there, caught upon stunted grubs or 
bushes, were found various articles. One of the straw 
hats had been carried fully two miles . During the forenoon 
both camps had the appearance of laundry establishments, 
a multitude of garments being spread out to dry in the 
sun. 



CHAPTER VIII 
Jack Morrow's Ranch 

ON a following night we camped on what for the 
lack of a better word I would term the shore 
of the so-called Plum Creek. There was 
naught in it of what is generally regarded as 
the chief characteristic of a creek, to-wit, water; but it 
had one feature that is proper for a creek, and that was a 
gully, which we regarded as unnecessarily deep, but which 
was absolutely dry. I was informed, no plums have ever 
been known to grow on its treeless margins. I remember, 
indeed, having read in later Nebraska agricultural reports 
that twenty varieties of wild plums are native to the 
territory, but that they are so similar one to another that 
none but an expert can distinguish or classify them. 
They may grow on the river islands, though I observed 
none on our course. 

Near the waterless creek was a newly built stage station, 
known also as Plum Creek. The station formerly on its 
site had been destroyed by the Indians, one in each of the 
two preceding years. Such was the history of nearly all 
the stations along the Platte. 

A few miles west of Plum Creek, we became satisfied 
that somewhere along there we should cross the one- 
hundredth meridian, which had figured prominently in 

88 



JACK MORROW'S RANCH 89 

the literature of the day as approximately defining the 
border of the American desert, beyond which undefined 
line there was no hope for the agriculturist. Fremont had 
described the country as "a vast, arid desert, impregnated 
with salts and alkali." 

Mr. Holton, in an address before the Scientific Club in 
Topeka, as late as the year 1880, is reported to have said 
that, " Commencing at the Rocky Mountains and extend- 
ing eastward toward the Missouri, and from the Gulf of 
Mexico to the Northwestern part of the United States, 
lay the great American desert of thirty years ago, " and, he 
added, "the geographies of that day were right." 

As I rode from day to day far back upon the uplands, 
I, too became convinced that they were right. 

"The stinging grass, the thorny plants, 
And other prickly tropic glories. 
The thieving, starved inhabitants 
Who look so picturesque in stories," 

about constitute the impression received by one observer 
Somewhere along this belt we certainly passed by slow 
gradation into a still more arid country having an exceed- 
ingly scant vegetation, in which the stubby, spiny, prickly 
types were prominent. The buffalo grass, having a short, 
rounded blade resembling the needles of a pine tree, and 
which cured like hay in the dry air, was very nutritious 
for the stock, but even where it grew, its small brown 
bunches covered but little of the soil. I have observed, 
and it is generally conceded, that the eastern prairie 
grass has of late each year spread westward, because 
"rain follows the plow." 

Across that seemingly forbidding expanse, tens of 
thousands of Mormon emigrants had passed, to reach 



90 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

another desert equally inliospitable, where the "soil was 
impregnated with salts and alkali." Hundreds of trains 
had transported the families of gold hunters to California 
and the Pike's Peak region, and now we were watching 
the tide of migration still press westward along this trail, 
but as far as I could discern, not one person of all these 
voyagers had deigned to pause and leave his impi-ess upon 
this land. Their pathway was marked only by the 
bleaching bones of horses and oxen that had perished in 
thousands by the wayside; and these bones were nearly all 
that those travelers left behind. This slumbering, inert 
expanse must slumber on, until some one shall find and 
develop its springs of life. 

On the evening of June 22nd, our national flag was seen in 
the west, streaming out from the staff at Fort McPherson, 
a post named in memory of our general who fell in front 
of Atlanta. The station was known also as Cottonwood. 
As we passed on to where we camped beyond it, we ob- 
served three small buildings made of cedar logs, also a 
quartermaster's building, and a small barracks of the 
same material. Three adobe barns were in the rear. In 
one of the buildings was the sutler's store, an institution 
that was always present at every post, where supplies both 
wet and dry were obtainable. The agreeable fragrance of 
cedar induced us, at a considerable sacrifice of money, to 
purchase a small log to carry with us for fuel, as we had 
become weary of being scavengers of refuse material for 
our fires. On investigation we learned that two companies 
of U. S. Volunteers, and two companies of U. S. Cavalry, 
were then stationed at the post, for protection against the 
Indians. 

At night the mosquitoes proved themselves to be the 
most ferocious and blood-thirsty creatures we had as yet 



JACK MORROW'S RANCH 91 

encountered. Hoping to secure some immunity from their 
attacks, a few of us decided to sleep in the tent and in it 
start a dense smudge produced by some coarse, semi- 
combustible material, on the generally accepted theory 
that those insects could be driven out by smoke. While 
this process was going on, we sat outside on the smoky 
side of the camp, hoping there to obtain some relief. As 
additional protection, the smokers Hghted their pipes and 
cigars in the confident belief that their troubles were over 
f3r a time; but when we counted five large, long-legged 
mosquitoes perched serenely upon a single lighted cigar, 
in addition to the uncounted insects encamped on the face 
of the smoker, we concluded that the smoke habit was not 
offensive to those impertinent marauding pests. On ly- 
ing down in our tent we were suffocated with the smoke, 
the only chance for respiration being to put our noses out 
from under the canvas, where they became instant centers 
of attack from fresh invaders. There was little sleep to 
be had that night, and we determined that, in the future, 
we should camp on higher lands back from the river, 
whenever it was practicable. 

At this post, as at Kearney, a reorganization of trains 
had to be made. As illustrating the average composition 
of these trains, from the records made at the post, we 
found that there preceded us in one day, three trains 
equipped as follows : 

Captain J. S. Miller, 42 men, 3 women, 7 children, 33 
oxen, 25 revolvers, 15 guns. Destination, Denver. 

Captain Harmon Kish, 30 men, 20 ox wagons, 8 guns, 
23 revolvers. Destination, Denver. 

Captain S. M. Scott, 34 men, 32 wagons, 34 revolvers, 
20 guns. Destination, Salt Lake City. 

This number of trains in one day was doubtless above 
the average. 



92 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

As the result of a conference, Dr. Brown with his family 
had dropped behind us with another train that would 
afford better protection. Having been assigned to the 
convoy of a large outfit, we moved out with it on the 
following day, but quickly separated from it and camped 
twelve miles distant in the bluffs beyond and overlooking 
the ranch of the redoubtable Jack Morrow, concerning 
whom we had heard many remarkable tales. He had been 
reported as an occasional visitor to the river towns, which 
he painted a vivid red after he had taken sufficient booze 
to bedim his usually clear judgment. We had been in- 
formed in Nebraska City that when on his recreation visits 
to the river towns he frequently indulged in the pastime 
of lighting his cigar with a bank note, — and no one dared 
to interfere ! If his history were truly written it would be 
made up largely of thrills. 

All except Pete and the Deacon went down to the 
ranch rather early, to spend the evening with Jack and his 
associates. The establishment was the most extensive 
that we saw on all our travels, and consisted in part of a 
large, two-story building, well constructed of logs. En- 
tering the large room, which was the business part of the 
ranch, we observed that it was well stocked with staple 
goods adapted to the requirements of emigrants and for 
barter with the Indians. A few saddles were suspended 
by their stirrups from pegs driven in the logs that formed 
the side walls of the apartment. Behind a solid rough 
counter were barrels of sugar and other groceries. On the 
shelves were articles of clothing of coarse material, also 
piles of moccasins, and upon the floor a pile of furs, doubt- 
less received in trade with the Indians. 

The heavy log beams that supported the low second 
floor were exposed, and from over the counter and near 



JACK MORROW'S RANCH 93 

the side of the room there hung from the beams a multi- 
tude of articles, all for sale or exchange. Half a dozen 
men were lounging in the room, and one of Morrow's 
assistants was sitting upon the wide lower shelf with his 
feet upon the counter. As no traders were in the store, 
there was a free and easy "nothing doing" atmosphere 
pervading the establishment. 

Soon after our arrival. Jack entered the room from a 
side door. On his first appearance he impressed us with 
the conviction that he was a man of more than ordinary 
power; and the effect of his entry upon all who were in the 
room indicated that he was a leader of men. His striking 
personality would attract attention in any company. 
His nose, which was strongly prominent, was decidedly 
aquiline; his eyes were small and bright; and a face is 
rarely seen that would so quickly suggest that of an 
eagle. Comporting perfectly with the quick and penetrat- 
ing glance of his eyes, his athletic frame seemed to be 
closely knit; he was vigorous and alert. He wore a negli- 
gee shirt, a soft hat and, strapped to his waist, a brace of 
revolvers. He observed us immediately on entering the 
room, and coming at once to where we were standing in 
a group he entered into conversation, freely answering our 
many questions. Later in the evening, after having been 
called away for a time, he returned, and having asked us 
to be seated he was led to relate many interesting incidents 
connected with his western life. 

During Jack's absence, Dan and I took a seat in another 
part of the room beside a man who had recently entered, 
and who, I learned, was an attache of the ranch. In the 
course of conversation, he described in these words a 
recent event which had occurred on the ranch. 

" One afternoon a few weeks ago, while Jack and I were 



94 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

here alone, a band of hot-headed Sioux crowded into the 
ranch here to clean it out, as they have done at some 
time with almost every ranch on the Platte. I reckon 
they had got too much whiskey somewhere. Anyhow, 
you see there's lots of things in the store, and they wanted 
to get w^hat they could before they burned the building. 
Jack saw just what was coming, and backed up against 
that wall over there, and I went and stood with him, and 
he was as cool as a cucumber. I was just waiting to see 
what he would do, for we had our guns all right. 

"Their chief and two of the older Indians who knew Jack 
better than the young bucks did, were up pretty close to 
us. The chief told the bucks to let the stuff alone. One 
of them said he had sworn by his fathers that he would 
take anything he wanted. I understood what he said, 
you know, and then the redskins began to load up with 
stuff. At this, the chief in a flash drew his bow to the 
arrow's head and quicker than lightning the arrow point 
was stuck deep into the Indian's side, and he dropped on 
the floor in a chunk. The chief said to the young bucks, 
*Take him away, for have I not said it?' They took the 
body out and Jack hasn't been troubled any more. But 
if their chief hadn't stopped the business just then, there 
would have been carcasses for more than one Indian 
funeral, for both Jack and me had a gun in each hand when 
we were backed against that wall. You know, when they 
come in such crowds they scare lots of these fellows, but 
they can't scare Jack if he has any sort of a chance, and 
he is a great shot and never gets rattled. He's always 
ready for a fight, and he has had lots of 'em. " 

We were informed by one of the loungers in the ranch 
that Jack was living with two Indian wives who were 
then in the building. This statement was confirmed by 



JACK MORROW'S RANCH 95 

freighters whom we saw later. His brother, who had an 
Indian wife, was associated with him in business. We 
were not disposed to question the rancher concerning so 
trifling a matter as that of his domestic relations. It 
would be thoroughly consistent for so eminent an Indian- 
American diplomat to adopt the most advanced customs 
of the distinguished heads of the tribes with whom he 
usually preserved pleasant relations (for Jack, being 
familiar with the language of some of the tribes, had 
served the Government as an interpreter in Indian treat- 
ies). Polygamy w^as common among the chiefs of many 
western tribes. Both Parkman and Catlin cite numerous 
cases of plurahty of wives which came under their ob- 
servation among the Indians. They also mention in- 
stances in which wives were sold, the almost universal 
price being a horse, a highly cherished possession among 
the savages. The stealing of wives is also mentioned in 
old writings concerning the tribes. A trapper stated to 
us that any Indian might steal a squaw, and if he chose 
afterwards to make an adequate present to her rightful 
proprietor, then the easy husband, to quote the language 
exactly, "for the most part fell asleep." Parkman refers 
to Mahto Tatonka who, out of several dozen squaws whom 
he had stolen, could boast that he had never paid for one, 
but snapping his fingers in the face of the injured husband 
had defied the extremity of his indignation; and no one had 
dared to lay the finger of violence upon him. Men of the 
West say that an arrow shot from a ravine, or a stab in 
the dark, an act which demands no great valor, and is 
especially suited to the Indian genius, has often proved 
the sequel to the stealing of a squaw. The theft of a 
horse, I really believe, is regarded as a graver offense. 
It was my good fortune to learn from Jack Morrow some 



96 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

facts concerning my former friend and schoolmate, Billy 
Comstock. Comstock, well-known on the plains as 
"Buffalo Bill," was descended from excellent stock. He 
was born in Comstock, Michigan, a town that was named 
in honor of his father. As a boy I remember him as being 
almost as dark in complexion as an Indian, and with hair 
as black as a raven. He was slender, but firmly built, and 
was a successful sprinter, having great endurance. His 
temperament well-fitted him for a roving life, and when 
but a youth he was on the plains. He was on the mount 
of the first pony express to Pike's Peak, which started on 
April 4, 1859, and shared the thrilling experiences of the 
daring young men who on their flying steeds transported 
the mails through the Indian country. They exchanged 
their horses at frequent intervals, usually vaulting from 
one saddle to that of a fresh horse held in waiting. As he 
had become familiar with the Indian dialects, Comstock's 
services as interpreter were frequently secured by the 
Government. He had his headquarters at Jack Morrow's 
ranch a considerable part of the time during the years 
1864 and 1865. 

Two years after our visit to Jack Morrow, (to be more 
exact, in the year 1868), Comstock was reported to have 
been killed by the Indians about fifty miles northeast of 
Sheridan, Kansas. Later information indicated that he 
was killed by Sharp Grover, a noted scout. Grover was 
in turn killed in a row at Pond City, near Fort Wallace. 
These facts were confirmed in a later interview with 
William F. Cody. Cody, who was a close personal friend 
of Comstock, but somewhat younger, was also a frequent 
guest at the Jack Morrow ranch. The two were among 
the distinguished characters on the plains. 

Cody received his sobriquet "Buffalo Bill" as the 



JACK MORROW'S RANCH 97 

result of a contest with Billy Comstock. It happened 
that a short time prior to the death of the latter, while 
the work on the Pacific Railroad was being pushed in 
Kansas, the superintendent of construction was dependent 
largely on the buffalo for meat for the workmen. Some 
of the hunters failed to furnish the required quantity. 
This condition resulted in putting these two famous men 
into competition. The number killed by each in the time 
agreed has been given to the writer by one of the contest- 
ants. Suffice it to state that William F. Cody secured 
the championship, wresting the title from Comstock, and 
has since been known as Buffalo Bill. Cody has been the 
guide for princes and presidents on hunting and other 
expeditions through the far West, and with his Wild West 
Show, so well known throughout America, he has appeared 
before the cro^Tied heads of many European countries. 
Not long ago the writer discovered him in Rome, where 
Cody introduced the Italian King and a royal party to 
the types of western life which he succeeded so well in 
presenting. 

Cody was born in Scott County, Iowa, in 1845. He 
was started on his public career by ColonelJudson, better 
known as Ned Buntline, a writer of sensational stories. 
One of Ned Buntline's stories has been dramatized under 
the title of "Buffalo Bill, the King of Border Men." 

While at the Junction house we learned from Morrow 
that a large band of Sioux was reported to have come 
down recently from the North to a point on the river 
twenty-seven miles farther West; and from information 
received concerning their conduct Jack was of the opinion 
that trouble was brewing. Returning to our camp we 
quickly secured our blankets and slept upon the open 
ground. The air was so dry, clear, and exhilarating that 



98 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

even Fred's little tent was not pitched. At about mid- 
night Pete, who was on guard, quietly crept to where 
Paul and I were sleeping, and gently arousing us, whispered 
that he had discovered figures moving round in the shadows, 
and at one time saw them distinctly as they passed over 
the hill. It was at once decided that we should quietly 
inform our men, and then ascertain who were the inter- 
lopers. Pete had been unable by the faint light of the 
stars to determine whether they were Indians or whites. 

The stealing of stock was a common pursuit of many 
men of both races, and the fact that these intruders were 
lurking in the valley led us to conclude that the visitors 
were thieves. We silently separated, and by prearrange- 
ment secured our rifles; in twos we noiselessly circled the 
valley, and like a net gradually closed in to the center. 

Two skulking men were evidently surprised when an 
equal number of our party confronted them and shouted a 
signal to the other boys to close in. The intruders were 
thus corralled almost before they were aware that they 
were discovered. 

"What the devil are you after, creeping around our 
camp at this time of night .f^" said Pete sternly to the 
strangers, and at the same time he snapped the cock of his 
gun. With a stammering voice one replied that they 
were hunting for stock. *' Whose stock are you hunting? " 
was asked with considerable vehemence. The stragglers 
both swore that they had lost some stock which they were 
trying to find. Our boys had closed in upon the captives, 
who, doubtless knowing the unwritten law of the plains, 
became manifestly uncomfortable. 

They protested so fervently and made so many contra- 
dictory statements that we were convinced of their guilty 
intentions. Dan, with vigorous tones, informed them that 



JACK MORROW'S RANCH 99 

if they believed that any stock which they might have 
missed had become mixed with our horses, they should 
not unnecessarily hazard their lives by endeavoring to 
secure their property by stealth at midnight, because 
stragglers, who should invade and lurk around an isolated 
camp in that country at that hour were liable to be shot at 
sight, as a precautionary measure. In the general clamor 
there were other similar arguments presented. We finally 
conducted the suspects to our camp for further examina- 
tion, where by the light of a lantern we found them to be 
well armed. Their guns were temporarily placed in 
Paul's custody. The flickering glare of the lamps also 
revealed their features and dress, and if they were not 
thieves they certainly had all the prevailing symptoms. 

It devolved upon us to hold a council and pass upon the 
prisoners. Our form of procedure was not restricted by 
any established code. The burden of evidence seemed 
to be so overwhelming against the accused that the 
majority promptly decided in favor of the usual punish- 
ment for western horse thieves. Deacon Cobb, however, 
argued for a commutation of the sentence: he urged that 
the suspects should report forthwith at Jack Morrow's 
ranch, should rouse him from his slumbers, and return 
with his certificate of their good character. They were 
reinvested with their guns, having assured us that they 
would conform to the terms, and on Pete's report that 
none of our horses were missing, were allowed to start on 
their mission; as was expected they were seen by us no 
more. 

At day -break on the following morning while our break- 
fast was being prepared, Dan and I were on a bluff watching 
the glorious sunrise. Before us was the junction of the 
North and South branches of the Platte River. The 



100 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

course of those streams could be followed far to the west, 
and the main channel, which we had been following, was 
glistening in the east. Near the junction, and far below 
us, was Jack's ranch, visited the previous night, and also 
known as the Junction House, — but Jack had a wider 
reputation than the forks of the Platte. 

We observed that the river valley had gradually nar- 
rowed and that the bluffs were nearer to the stream than 
they were further east. As we were surveying the beauti- 
ful scenery, we were suddenly startled by the music of a 
brass band coming from behind a spur of the bluffs in the 
west. The booming of cannon could not have been a 
greater surprise to us. Changing our position to another 
spur in the hills, we discovered a regiment of cavalry, 
which we learned later was the 11th Ohio. It was pre- 
ceded by a long mule train transporting baggage and some 
invalids. This was followed by the mounted officers, who 
immediately preceded the band wagon. The cavalry 
moved along further behind with little regard for order. 
In the rear were about fifty Indians mounted on horses, 
riding rapidly back and forth, as if to give an exhibition 
of their superior horsemanship. 

Possibly, like children they were attracted by curiosity; 
more probably, however, as we concluded later, they were 
following to create the impression that all was serene 
with the Indians; and they were undoubtedly pleased 
to see the troops moving eastward from their country, 
and desired to report their progress to their chiefs, whose 
lodges were not far away in the northwest. We learned 
that the cavalry was on its way home, to be discharged. 
The band was playing for the special entertainment of 
Jack Morrow, and continued from time to time until it 
reached his ranch. Jack would be sure to open something 



JACK MORROW'S RANCH 101 

attractive for the entertainment of the whole party. 
Before the troops or the Indians left Jack's ranch we were 
again on the trail, rolling westward. 



CHAPTER IX 

Men of the Western Twilight 

JACK MORROW'S ranch was left far behind us 
before the sun appeared above the hills, for we 
had made an early start, as had been our recent 
practice, so that we might rest during the heat 
of the early afternoon. On the following morning we 
were on O 'Fallon's bluff, so named in memory of Ben- 
jamin O'Fallon, of St. Louis, who was kUled there by 
Indians. Topographical surveys give the elevation of the 
valley below the bluffs as 3,012 feet above sea level, or 
about 2,000 feet above Omaha. These surveys also show 
the bed of the Platte River to average about 300 feet 
higher than the Republican River at the South, and 
parallel streams at the North, at the various points in 
the same longitude West. O'Fallon's bluff, however, is 
not a commanding eminence, but seems to be nothing 
more than a good-sized, irregularly shaped sand dune. 

As we were dragging along the sandy road we observed 
approaching us four somewhat excited men, who with a 
two-mule team, were hastening eastward. Three of 
them, two of whom were bareheaded, were walking up the 
grade as rapidly as possible, while the driver on the wagon, 
although urging his mules forward, seemed unable to press 
them into a gait faster than a walk, because of the heavy 

102 



MEN OF THE WESTERN TWILIGHT 103 

road and the ascending grade. When they halted at our 
side, the mules and the walkers were wet with perspiration. 
We also stopped, and leaving our horses, gathered round 
the strangers, as it was evident that they had something 
to communicate. As soon as they had recovered enough 
breath after their arduous climb to talk coherently, one 
of them, to quote his own words, informed us that the 
Indians were raising the devil up the river only a few miles 
away, and that some of the savages were moving eastward. 
Another ejaculated that seven hundred Ogallala Sioux 
had camped on an island near Baker's ranch, and that the 
ranch was invaded and would probably be destroyed. 
They urged us to turn back until we could get a strong 
escort. Each had some item of information and word of 
counsel. 

Having obtained all possible particulars concerning the 
situation, we found ourselves very much in the frame of 
mind of the average small boy, who, learning that a fight 
is on around the corner, is disposed to rush immediately 
to the center of disturbance. We had no definite knowl- 
edge concerning the whereabouts of other trains moving 
westward, with one of which, according to Government 
orders, we ought perhaps to have been traveling. There 
certainly was no wagon in sight between us and the place 
where the white sandy trail curved up the slopes of the 
bluffs beyond and was lost to sight some miles westward. 

We threshed out the matter thoroughly in the presence 
of our new friends, and all members of our party were 
more and more inclined to press forward as rapidly as 
possible, fearing we might fail to witness something that 
might be of interest; and all this directly against valuable 
advice given in the Book of Proverbs. When we thanked 
the gentlemen and bade them good-bye, they wished us 



104 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

good luck and a safe trip, and as a final admonition urged 
us to be on our guard. 

Passing over the western extremity of the bluffs, where 
the trail begins to descend again into the Platte valley, 
our train came into view of the little house well known as 
Baker's ranch. Beyond it flowed the muddy Platte, the 
channel of which could be traced many miles of its course. 
It then appeared to the eye as if divided into many chan- 
nels, which formed numerous islands or sand bars. Many 
of these islands in the Platte are almost as unstable as the 
ancient Delos, or as the waters that sweep over them in 
flood time, appearing in one place today, in another tomor- 
row, because the quicksands are always rolling and shift- 
ing under the action of the swift current. On the other 
hand, the clayey formation in the valley of the lower 
Platte, termed loess by geologists, seems throughout that 
course of the river to assume a crystalline form; and as the 
stream washes away its shores, it carves out many per- 
pendicular banks having the columnar form of basaltic 
cliffs, but of a neutral red color. 

As from the hills we looked with our field glass to a point 
beyond the ranch, we observed, and perhaps for the first 
time along the river, a bank that was low and easily ford- 
able, for we saw two mounted Indians rapidly enter the 
stream and ride through it to a large island, which like an 
oasis in the desert was well covered with verdure. Upon 
the island was an Indian village; and beyond the island, 
and beyond the further channel of the sparkling river, the 
brown plain gradually sloped upward to the table-lands 
at the North. 

Clustered rather closely together upon the island, and 
standing out clearly in the bright sunlight, were seventy 
white circular lodges, each tapering gracefully to a point. 



MEN OF THE WESTERN TWILIGHT 105 

and appearing from far away like a crest of fringe; at the 
top of each lodge, were the lodge poles, with their small ends 
crossed at the apex. Around and among the tents, was 
a scene of animation in which warriors, squaws, and 
children confusedly intermingled like a legion of busy red 
ants in a city of ant hills, each forming a moving dot of 
bright color. All this striking and beautiful scene, as 
more clearly discerned through the field glass, resembled 
rather a motion picture than a scene in real life, for not a 
sound reached us through the still air from that cluster 
of Indian tepees. As the Sioux lodges average about ten 
occupants each, it appeared safe to estimate the population 
of the village at about 700. They were men of the 
western twilight, as fantastically named by Karl G. Car us. 

Having surveyed rather carefully the general land- 
scape, our party proceeded observantly until we lined up 
in front of Baker's ranch. We, who were on horseback, 
alighted, and passing unmolested by a dozen athletic red 
warriors, we entered the open door. To our surprise we 
found the floor nearly covered with Indians reclining in 
various postures. Stepping over two or three of these 
recumbent forms, an act that did not make them move a 
hair's breadth, we picked our way toward the corner of the 
room, where we met the valiant Lew Baker, then in the 
prime of his young manhood. The counter extended 
along the east side of the building, after the fashion of 
many country stores, and behind it stood its owner. 

A little woman, the wife of Baker, was also seated behind 
the same counter near a window at the front of the room, 
somewhat protected and concealed by a desk upon that 
end of the counter, and was therefore not readily observed 
by persons entering. In her arms was their only child, 
Elma, then four months old. Baker introduced us to his 



106 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

wife, with whom I exchanged a few words. Johnny 
Baker, the famous crack shot and for many years a star 
feature as sharpshooter in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, 
was a later scion of this stock. While careful not to betray 
any interest concerning the red visitors in the ranch, we 
embraced the first opportunity to obtain from Baker all 
information possible regarding the situation. We asked 
if he believed that any of the Indians present would under- 
stand our conversation. He gave it as his opinion that 
they would not, though as we all well understand, our 
manner and tone of voice might suggest much to them. 

Baker, continuing, and turning his eyes toward the 
ceiling as if conversing on some general topic, said, "Those 
Indians you see lying around you on the floor, entered 
the room this morning almost at the break of day, taking 
very nearly their present positions on the floor, and not 
one of them since their arrival seems to have spoken a 
word; they have scarcely moved." Nor had there been 
any expressions upon any one of their faces, except the 
same unchanged suUenness that we could then observe. 
During our interview neither one of us appeared to notice 
the subjects of our conversation. 

As is well known, there is a certain peculiar strain 
clearly marked in the character of most Indians of the 
warlike tribes. If they become offended, it is not their 
practice to remove their outer garments if they should 
happen to be wearing a blanket, and like an impetuous 
Irishman, at once rush to the front with clenched fists, or 
like a volatile Frenchman, pour out a volley of sacres, to 
indicate their self confidence, nor are apologies considered 
an adequate satisfaction for any injury. They are not 
loquacious at any time. They are more disposed to 
nourish their wrath in silence and like a sulky child refuse 



MEN OF THE WESTERN TWILIGHT 107 

to communicate with their enemy, until the opportunity 
comes when they may strike an unexpected blow under 
conditions favorable to themselves. The Sioux, indeed, 
at the time of which we are writing, had ample grounds 
for resentment, and although the ranch-man was power- 
less to right their wrongs, they regarded all whites as 
common parties to the controversy yet unsettled. Baker 
well understood their temper, but did not know when the 
storm might burst. He had placed his little wife and 
child where he could best shield them, relying chiefly upon 
himself for protection; his quick eye was ready at all times 
to detect the faintest hostile movement; and he declared 
himself determined to defend his little wife and baby to 
the utmost. 

It was a remarkable feature of the demonstration that 
occurred while we were in Baker's ranch, that at intervals 
of but a few minutes one Indian after another, usually in 
pairs, silently entered the opened door, and with a soft, 
noiseless tread of moccasined feet, moved across the room, 
among or across the impassive warriors, who lay stretched 
out upon the floor apparently unnoticed, with whom as 
far as we could discern they exchanged no word or sign 
whatever. On reaching Baker, some offered a trifling 
article in exchange for others of much greater value, 
preferably for a side of bacon or a bag of flour, which were 
taken without comment, and the articles so taken were 
at once carried away. In some cases an Indian would 
actually take possession of a coveted article without any 
payment in return, and at once leave the building with the 
property; but during all this time the Red Men on the 
floor lay in silence, utterly indifferent to all that was 
taking place. 

We offered Mr. Baker any assistance that our small 



108 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

party could afford, and urged him in any event to abandon 
his ranch and seek safety for himself and family with 
some armed train. He finally replied that he would en- 
deavor to hold the situation until some outfit should 
arrive, bound eastward, but such trains were now far apart. 
In the meantime, his stock of merchandise was being 
rapidly depleted. Although his ranch for that day was 
spared by the band which was then investing it, it was 
twice attacked and destroyed by the Indians within the 
ensuing eighteen months, the particulars of which attacks 
were furnished me by Johnny Baker as matters of family 
history, although he himself was too young then to have 
personal recollections of the stirring events. 

As we could be of little service to the beleaguered young 
rancher and his little family, for which we felt great solici- 
tude, and as he would not go westward at that time, we 
pushed onward a mile beyond, to a point near the river 
bank, for our luncheon. Instead of picketing our horses 
in the usual manner, we tied them to the wagon wheels 
and compelled them to forego their noon grazing until we 
could get our bearings. While the meal was being pre- 
pared, three of the boys, Ben and Fred being two of the 
number, had the temerity to ford the river and visit the 
Indian village. What the purpose of such a proceeding 
might have been cannot now be imagined. Curiosity 
certainly got the better of good sense. Ben was usually 
to be relied upon as sane and sensible. 

It proved easy for them to ford the comparatively 
shallow but rather wide channel of the river flowing be- 
tween the mainland and the island where the Indian 
lodges were rather closely grouped together. The Indians 
evidently had selected this island for their temporary 
abode, on account of the grass with which portions of it 



MEN OF THE WESTERN TWILIGHT 109 

were covered, the mainland being very dry and furnishing 
but Httle forage for stock. 

Our estimate of the number of their horses and ponies 
was about 600. These were wandering about on the 
island, many standing in the water's edge, switching the 
flies with their tails. The lodges, as was the custom of 
the plains at that time, were made of dressed buffalo 
skins, which in the distance looked comparatively white. 
They were well made and the skins were firmly sewed 
together. On a closer approach the color was seen to be 
slightly tawny. 

The larger tents were about twenty-five feet in height, 
generally with thirty poles supporting each tent. We 
had been informed that nearly all their lodge poles were 
obtained from near the foot of the Rocky Mountains, and 
plainsmen stated, on the authority of the Indians, that 
many of them have thus been in use for a hundred years. 
One, and perhaps two, of the large tents would have 
afforded space for forty persons to dine in its shelter. 

Around the lodges were scores of squaws, many of them 
at that hour half reclining in the doors of their tents, in 
costumes generally quite decollete. One young girl was 
observed whose apparel indicated that she was connected 
with a family of distinction. She wore a balmoral skirt of 
brilliant hues, which was possibly secured in some trade 
by her admiring father or lover. She was also loaded with 
beads and tinsel. Many papooses were decorated with 
beads and similar trifles. These cheap articles with 
brilliantly colored calico, were often received in exchange 
for furs and robes. 

The Indian bucks were much in evidence when we 
first saw the village, although but few were there when 
we reached it. We concluded that many of them had 



no THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

gone out on some expedition after we had obtained our 
first view of the village from O'Fallon's bluff. Our 
party hardly felt at ease, as there was a manifest lack of 
cordiality towards us among the inhabitants, which was 
not explained by our unfamiliarity with their language; 
our boys, therefore, were not obtrusive. 

Having sauntered leisurely among the malodorous 
lodges for a time, we suddenly observed the rapid approach 
of a large body of mounted Indians from away beyond 
the North side of the river. They were coming with such 
headlong impetuosity that we instantly concluded that 
we might be greatly needed in our own camp. According- 
ly we recrossed the river without unnecessary delay and 
were soon relating our experiences around the camp fire 
while we ate a hasty lunch. The meal had hardly been 
despatched when Noah, on casting his eyes in the direc- 
tion of the river, immediately turned and exclaimed, 
"There's a band of those devils fording the stream, and 
I'll bet they are coming to return that visit." 

Sure enough they were, and a social obligation is rarely 
discharged with greater alacrity and spontaneity. They 
were probably a portion of the band that first came in 
from the North, and learning of the call made at their 
home during their brief absence, they made an instanta- 
neous rush across the stream, and immediately on touching 
dry land on our side, came on a dead run for our camp. 
On reaching it, their horses were brought to a sudden stop. 
At the same moment the Indians were on their feet upon 
the ground as quick as a flash, and almost simultaneously; 
and, more quickly than it can be told, they were every- 
where in our camp, and we seemed to be nowhere. They 
made themselves thoroughly at home. 

As the result of a common impulse, we also quickly 



MEN OF THE WESTERN TWILIGHT 111 

found ourselves within close speaking distance of each 
other. None of our party were able to state the exact 
number of the invaders, but twenty-five was a later esti- 
mate. They were young, vigorous warriors, all armed 
with bows, arrows, and knives; none of them, so far as we 
observed, bore firearms. Like all the Western and North- 
western Indians, except the Sacs, Foxes, and Pawnees, 
their hair was long and straight. They wore no articles 
of dress which had been adopted from the whites, but they 
presented themselves in the primitive simplicity of feathers 
and paint, limbs and breast being bare. One of them 
wore big feathers. He may have been the great Chief Hole- 
in-the- Ground, and we should have been pleased if he had 
stayed in the hole. 

Possibly we did not greet them with a cordial welcome. 
There was certainly no need to extend them formally the 
freedom of the camp. As a ma.tter of fact, this ceremony 
was forgotten, but it was never missed. We were also 
slightly embarrassed and perhaps uncommonly modest. 
The visitors came upon us unexpectedly, like a great 
family of distant relations by marriage. There was too 
little prepared food in our camp to furnish a collation that 
would comport with the dignity of the chief with the big 
feathers, and his minions. His highness, however, re- 
lieved us from any concern on that score, for without 
standing on ceremony he, and his red-skinned satellites, 
proceeded at once to help themselves to everything within 
reach. This was accomplished with all desirable despatch. 
It was observed that four or five of the number had 
thoughtfully provided themselves with blankets. As the 
day was very warm, this was not done for protection 
against the weather, but, as we discovered in a few mo- 
ments, with the subtler purpose of using them as vehicles 



112 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

for plunder, — satchels and suit-cases having not yet be- 
come popular. 

The raid was first made upon the little food which we had 
in sight upon the ground. We had not yet fully compre- 
hended their plans, but regarded the savages as being a 
trifle "fresh. " Fred, who like the rest of us was watching 
these proceedings with the resignation that is born of 
helplessness, remarked to me, **If they ever try to digest 
any bread like that which I ate for breakfast, they will 
regret their visit." Fred was not inclined to be solemn 
at any time, but to others as well as to me the situation 
was rapidly becoming serious. The cooking utensils were 
then all hastily gathered up by the audacious freebooters 
and put into their blankets, as if this were a commonplace 
business affair that must be quickly performed. Simul- 
taneously, and with perfect concert of action, others pro- 
ceeded to the mess boxes at the rear of the wagons, and 
rapidly, and in a confident and business-like manner 
emptied them one by one of their contents. About half 
of the invaders remained inactive, but held their bows in 
their hands as if to overawe us and, if necessary, defend 
the raiders. 

The situation was now becoming exceedingly tense. 
The plan of the Indians was rapidly developing; it was, 
first to appropriate our lighter effects, as we knew had 
often been done that year in other cases, and then to 
follow this by capturing our horses, after which we should 
be left destitute, without even a skillet or a cup in which 
to cook a Jack rabbit. Our guns must be saved. Every 
one of our number seemed eager to act at once, for the 
moment for resistance had certainly come now if ever. 
In a minute more it would be too late. 

It has been written as the experience of the old fur-* 



MEN OF THE WESTERN TWILIGHT 113 

traders, that the timorous mood and dilatory tactics of 
many of the emigrants in their relations with the Indians 
often exposed them to real danger and final disaster, and 
that a bold stand and self-confident bearing often resulted 
in safety. We were happy in that the leaders of our party 
met the situation promptly and coolly. Some one said in 
a clear voice, "Dan, you are Captain." In an instant 
Dan seemed invested with full authority, and at once 
with ringing voice gave the order, " Get your guns quickly 
and line up here. " Each man had in his wagon, concealed 
under a flap in the side of the cover, a good Henry rifle, 
which by mutual agreement for any emergency, was 
always loaded with sixteen fixed cartridges and always 
in perfect condition. Separating for but a moment, and 
in some cases dodging round a redskin, we were again 
together in quick time, but now in line with rifles to our 
shoulders. 

Previous to that moment there was a question as to the 
expediency of showing resistance. The bringing out of the 
guns, however, meant war, unless the savages should 
immediately withdraw. Even Deacon Cobb, with his 
long white hair floating in the breeze, stood in line bare- 
headed, and as cool as any veteran, with his eye along his 
rifle awaiting a further order. Each man also had a re- 
volver in his belt, all of which were in sight. As a fact 
there had been considerable rifle practice carried on from 
time to time by our party, and for short range some of the 
men had proved good shots. The Henry rifle, however, 
was not very reliable at long range and the projectiles 
were light, but for an affair such as this was likely to 
be they were simply perfect, because of their rapid fire. 

Our enemy, now at such close quarters, did not fail to 
take notice, but we were surprised that our action pro- 



114 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

duced so little effect. It remained for Dan to speak the 
next word. Now Dan Trippe, with the exception of the 
Deacon, was the oldest member of our party; and as many 
persons still well remember, he was gifted with a mag- 
nificent physique, a remarkably forceful presence, and a 
voice of tremendous power. Moreover, in profanity, the 
only element in our language which the Indians were said 
to understand, his style was vigorous, yea, unsurpassed in 
vehemence, persuasiveness and unction. His oaths, 
though reserved chiefly for emergencies, were drawn from 
a carefully chosen glossary. 

Observing that our challenge failed to check the raid, 
before giving the order to fire Dan quickly stepped slightly 
to the front, and in a manner not to be forgotten, delivered 
his call to combat. He added force to his defiance by his 
vigorous gestures and actions, all freely emphasized by 
strong, resonant vocables (few of which are to be found 
in the school dictionaries), and all uttered in an unhesi- 
tating, stentorian voice that could have been heard on the 
island. The purport of his Philippic, stripped of its 
invectives, was that articles which the thieves had appro- 
priated must be laid down instanter, and they themselves 
must immediately "vamoose" the camp, otherwise he 
would not be responsible for their untimely decease. 
It was the pantomime, the gesticulations and the voice in 
which Dan had few rivals that were to produce conviction 
in savages to whom our language was as Latin. 

There was a moment of hesitation, then a brief parley 
among the Indians, through which we waited, and re- 
mained in line, at the right of which now stood Dan with 
his gun. All of a sudden the articles were dropped upon 
the ground. The Indians mounted their horses, but 
without the slightest indication of haste or fear quietly 



MEN OF THE WESTERN TWILIGHT 115 

rode in a body about a half a mile westward, and there 
they appeared to hold a brief conference. We carefully 
watched their movements, retaining our rifles as we re- 
mained in line. In a few minutes as if by common 
understanding the savages suddenly started back down 
the road toward our camp which they passed within fifty 
feet; every horse was pushed to the top of its speed, racing 
one behind another in single file. The long black hair of 
the warriors was flying in the wind. At times they were 
riding on the sides of their horses, each having but one leg 
and possibly the head exposed to our view. The savage, 
dissonant yells which they uttered to the limit of their 
voices, as they swept by us, as if for a challenge, were 
calculated to make the hair stand on end. They did not 
pause as we thought they might do, but sped by us with a 
rush, at the same time indicating by their manner and 
motions that they dared us to shoot and that they pro- 
posed even yet to obtain satisfaction. It was a dare-devil 
demonstration and an exhibition of superb horsemanship. 
We were certainly tempted strongly to give them a volley, 
but we wisely saved our powder. Their exhibition of cool 
audacity had roused in us a fighting spirit, at least that is 
what we all said after the affair was over. We were on 
the verge of a strife for which we were well prepared. 
It had been our opinion, obtained from various sources, 
that Indians will not offer fight when near their homes. 
This is doubtless their general policy, but as we had but 
five wagons, they were at first confident in their superior 
numerical strength and their ability to obtain speedy 
reinforcements. Their purpose without doubt was to get 
horses and other property, and preferably without a 
struggle — but that preference could not have been over- 
powering. Indians were then taking stock in large num- 



116 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

bers from emigrants, a practice which continued for several 
months thereafter. 

The band upon leaving us, did not slacken its speed 
until it reached the ford. Unless we desired to fight, and 
that, too, possibly at night, it was clearly unsafe for us to 
remain where we were, as the band that visited us could 
easily secure large reinforcements. Hitching our horses 
to the wagons as quickly as possible, we immediately 
started westward with the hope of reaching a certain 
mule train which we were confident could not be many 
miles in advance. As our little party followed the road 
that wound up the first foothills we reached, on glancing 
backward as we had frequently done since leaving the 
last camp, we observed the squaws and boys scatter al- 
most simultaneously from the Indian village in various 
directions. In less time than it takes to tell it, the skin 
coverings were removed from every lodge, and the pine 
poles thus left bare were instantly upon the ground; and 
before we had lost sight of the island, which could not 
have been more than an hour, the whole outfit was loaded 
upon ponies, the poles being dragged at their sides, and 
the cavalcade of mounted warriors and squaws, with all 
their camp equipage, had forded the opposite channel of 
the river to the north side. A village had been moved in 
less than sixty minutes. We were astounded at the per- 
fect system that must have been followed and at the 
celerity of their operations. 

The reason for this hasty move was not then known to 
us, but we soon learned of a big flood that was coming 
down the river, concerning which they would certainly be 
informed; without doubt their chief had given the order 
to abandon the island. The removal of these lodges was 
the best exhibition of Indian team work that I have ever 



MEN OF THE WESTERN TWILIGHT 117 

witnessed. It is interesting to read in Catlin's Indians of 
North America^ Vol. 1, p. 50, that he saw 600 Sioux skin- 
lodges struck and packed on horses in a few minutes. 
In one minute after the signal had been given by the chief, 
the 600 lodges, which before had been strained tight and 
fixed, were seen waving and flapping in the wind. In one 
minute more, every lodge was flat upon the ground. The 
loading was also equally rapid. As we had opportunity 
to verify later, the poles of each lodge are divided into 
two bunches, and the smaller ends of the two bunches are 
fastened one upon each side of the shoulders of the horse, 
leaving the butt ends to drag upon the ground. Just 
behind the horse a brace or pole is tied across, which keeps 
the poles in their respective places. Upon this is placed 
the tent material, rolled up with other articles of domestic 
furniture. The women do the work, and many of them 
walk, but the noble warriors ride. 

Before the sun had set we were happy to discover the 
corral of the train we had hoped to reach. The compan- 
ionship of its members was welcome, and our guard duties 
were divided with them. 



CHAPTER X 
Dan, The Doctor 

WHEN one sleeps upon the open ground 
at night with nothing above one's head 
but the clear blue sky, the sun seems to 
rise wonderfully early on a bright, un- 
clouded, midsummer morning. As our only artificial 
lights in this wandering life were tallow candles in a 
lantern, we soon made the interesting discovery that the 
night is made for sleep, whereupon we naturally lapsed 
into the nocturnal habits of aborigines, which on the 
whole were doubtless quite as consistent with nature as 
was our own previous custom. So, on the evening after 
leaving Baker's ranch, the story of the past day having 
been fully rehearsed, one after another, as the evening 
shadows began to gather, the boys quietly sought as 
eligible a spot as could be found on the ground nearby, 
and they sought it in very much the same deliberate 
manner as the horse finds his chosen bed, and sinks upon 
it at the close of day. 

When the light of the yet unrisen sun was silently herald- 
ing the approach of the on-coming day, it awakened our 
out-of-door sleepers, and there began at once in both 
camps the usual early morning activities, for both outfits 
were to pull out by sunrise. The delightful aroma of 

118 



DAN, THE DOCTOR 119 

coffee and frying bacon stole through the air, stimulating 
the appetites of men whose stomachs were in waiting. 

Our tin cups had not been emptied when from the 
southward we heard the cracking of whips and the yelp- 
ing of the mounted mule herders as they came upon the 
run, rushing the long-eared drove toward the big corral, 
which was separated from our camp by possibly the 
fourth of a mile. Soon after the mules had been driven 
into the enclosure and were expressing some uninterpret- 
able emotions by loud yet plaintive brayings, our boys 
were actively harnessing their horses, which had been 
picketed upon the range; speedily they pulled out, while the 
big train soon uncoiled itself not far behind. Three of 
us on horseback rode some distance in advance. 

The morning was indescribably beautiful. Many have 
written of Italian skies, and I have often seen and recog- 
nized their beauty when they were tinted with the mirrored 
blue of the Mediterranean, but I have never seen brighter, 
clearer skies or breathed purer, more exhilarating air than 
we found on that high and arid plain. Ben, Fred, and I 
proceeded side by side upon the firm trail. There was no 
green grass nor were there trees to soften the colors of the 
landscape, but there were many large patches of cacti then 
in bloom, the prevailing colors of which were scarlet and 
bright yellow. We noticed that the long ridges trending 
toward the river were higher and presented a broader 
sweep, and the intervening valleys that we crossed were 
correspondingly wider and deeper than were those further 
east. Far behind at times we could see our canvas-covered 
prairie schooners rising over those great fixed billows, like 
the white-winged barks that bore the Pilgrim fathers over 
the Atlantic's waves; or possibly like Abraham's ships of 
the desert all alike drifting westward, ever westward, over 



1^0 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

a wilderness whether of land or sea, destined to some new 
region far away. 

On the forenoon of that day, June 26th, while riding over 
the crest of one of those broad swells, we three simulta- 
neously discerned on the western horizon what appeared 
to be a placid lake of considerable size, with a well-defined 
shore line on its further border. Its color, bright azure 
blue, denoted a body of clear and deep water. It was a 
charming feature in that treeless, arid landscape, but 
nothing upon our maps had ever suggested to us the 
existence of such a body of water in that country. 

Not long previous to that time, I had seen from the 
shore of Lake Superior a distant island invisible under 
ordinary conditions, but at times apparently lifted above 
the horizon, with its well defined shore line quivering 
unsteadily in the sky just above the surface of the water. 
As we moved onward, this phantom Nebraska lake receded, 
and in an hour it melted into the blue sky. We then knew 
that it was a mirage. The same phenomenon reappeared, 
always in the West and under the same conditions, at 
about nine o'clock on each of the two succeeding mornings. 

It is something of a tumble to turn the thoughts from a 
celestial vision of rare beauty to the details of a dog dinner. 
Just while the beautiful mirage, and other interesting 
phases of nature were lifting the trio to an exalted frame 
of mind, Paul's ruling passion led him to one of the many 
prairie dog settlements that we passed on our course, 
where he shot two of the rodents and secured them before 
they had dropped into their burrow. During our long 
noon rest he carefully prepared and cooked them for our 
luncheon. When we assembled at the mess, the unrecog- 
nizable dogs, fat and plump and nicely browned, were 
exhibited by Paul as something rare and dainty. 



DAN, THE DOCTOR 121 

Our usual mode of serving food was similar to that 
adopted in the modern cafeterias, in which our methods 
seem to have been so far imitated that each person takes 
his plate to the common source of supply for his rations, 
but returns to his base of operations to devour them. On 
the occasion of our dog feast, Paul, being ambitious to 
produce a favorable impression with the roast dog, gra- 
ciously conveyed it to each of the banqueters as they sat 
upon the ground in an irregular circuit. It was amusing 
to watch them as each cut a delicate morsel and conveyed 
it to his mouth, then chewed the little fragment slowly 
and critically that the organs of taste might fully sense 
the flavor. At the same time, with compressed eye-brows, 
a far-away look in the eyes, and an occasional glance toward 
the faces of others who were going through the same 
ceremony, all were preparing to give an expert opinion on 
the dainty. 

Nearly but not quite every member of the party ac- 
cepted a portion and made favorable comments on the 
flavor. There is possibly something in the familiar local 
name commonly applied to these animals that is n^t 
appetizing, but the name is really a misnomer, as the 
prairie dog does not belong to the canine family. Even 
that fact in itself may not commend him as a delicacy for 
the table. In some features he resembles the squirrel, 
but in habits and actions, as many people know, is more 
like a chipmunk, and the two are members of the same 
family. The generally accepted belief that these little 
animals dwell together in amity with rattlesnakes, which 
are rather numerous in the chosen territory of the prairie 
dog, need not add to their attractiveness on the menu. 

I have foimd no definite authority on the subject, but 
I should conclude from observation and inquiry that the 



122 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

serpents are not the invited guests of the rodents, but 
hibernate with them during the winter as an economic 
measure, to avoid unnecessary labor in preparing their 
own subterranean apartments and in the ordinary spring 
housework, all of which is performed in common courtesy 
by the hosts. It may be imagined that the relations be- 
tween the householders and their unbidden guests are not 
always cordial. 

In the forenoon we had fallen in with a small party of 
emigrants, with whom I had already held some conversa- 
tion. In one of their wagons were two brothers, one of 
whom was driving their span of mules. The older of the 
two, who was about to start on a hunt, drew his rifle from 
beneath the seat, when it was accidently discharged, the 
bullet entering his thigh. This was simply an incident 
to which travelers are liable. No doctor was at hand. I 
was riding near the wagon and assisted the unfortunate 
youth to the ground. It occurred to one of our party to 
apply for counsel to Dan Trippe, who was "a sort of all- 
around man, *' who always had a good jack-knife and had 
read some scientific works. He had possibly read some- 
thing concerning surgery, for his father had been a physi- 
cian. When Dan was summoned and the situation was 
briefly stated to him, it was suggested to him that he 
should not disclose the fact that he was not a regular 
practitioner, because it would materially detract from the 
good effect of what he might do. While the injured 
young man now stretched out upon the ground was appar- 
ently unconcerned, his youthful brother was heartbroken 
and in tears, realizing that an accident liable to prove 
serious had occurred far out in the wilderness. 

Dan promptly responded to the call, and, approaching 
the sufferer, proceeded at once in a cool, self-possessed 



DAN, THE DOCTOR 123 

manner to examine the wound. Dan had studied Greek 
in a preparatory school, and was able to use a few anatomi- 
cal terms any one of which would serve his purpose at the 
time as well as any other. He accordingly raised his 
eyebrows and looked wise, after the manner of experienced 
physicians. He then addressed to us a few recondite 
terms which came to his mind, assuming to indicate the 
probable direction which the ball had taken, all of which 
was about as clear and satisfactory as is the average diag- 
nosis. The younger boy, anxious to obtain Dan's mature 
opinion on the case, asked with trembling voice, "Doctor, 
do you think brother will get w^ell? " 

After another moment, apparently given to careful con- 
sideration of the conditions, Dan replied, in slowly de- 
livered, well accented words with an air indicating pro- 
found knowledge. Bringing into play a stock term which 
he often used humorously, a term suggested by an oft-told 
story, he said that there being no serious phlebotomization 
of the wound, the prognosis was favorable, and he was 
confident that under fair conditions the patient would 
speedily recover, — information that was more satisfactory 
to the youth than it was to Dan. Our boys could not 
suppress some smiles when they heard this oracle. A 
later informal and unprofessional conversation wdth a 
few friends, led to the decision, that as Dr. Brown was 
now an "uncertain proposition,'* the wounded man had 
best be sent ahead to Julesburg, now a small army post, 
where there was possibly a surgeon. The lightest wagon in 
the train was accordingly appropriated, and its freight 
distributed to the other wagons; a suspended bed, upon 
which the young man was swung as in a hammock, was 
constructed inside the box; provisions were put in for a 
three days' journey; and with the best span of mules 



124 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

available and a driver, the two boys started on their long 
and anxious journey, planning to drive as continuously as 
possible. 

We had been undecided as to the course we should take 
west of Julesburg, but having received information that 
the Platte was rising, it was deemed expedient for our 
little party also to push on, so that if we did conclude to 
take a northern route we could more safely cross the 
river. We accordingly again pressed onward in advance 
of the train that we had recently joined. Unless the 
traveler upon those wide prairies was exceedingly dull 
and impassive something was sure to occur each day to 
arouse his interest. The sight of game or some unex- 
pected incident invoked expressions of enthusiasm or 
curiosity. 

On the forenoon after Dan assumed the role of doctor 
a small herd of antelope seemed to surprise themselves 
by coming directly upon us on their way from the river 
toward the bluffs to the south. When alarmed these 
beautiful beasts start with the speed of the wind in some 
direction without much regard for what may be in their 
course; so, in this case, they apparently took no notice of 
our big wagons until they were almost within thirty rods 
of them, when they suddenly turned to pass in our rear. 
The first impulse of man is to shoot the innocent creatures, 
and in a moment four or five rifles were out, and bullets 
were flying, but the little fellows were too rapid and es- 
caped injury. 

Immediately following this trifling incident dense black 
clouds with a fleecy border rolled up from the west and we 
soon faced a terrific squall, followed by a driving storm of 
heavy hail. The flattened icy meteors were of the regula- 



DAN, THE DOCTOR 125 

tion size, being as large as hens' eggs. Those of us who 
were on horseback hastily sought refuge in the wagons. 
Our horses, however, quickly became quite unmanage- 
able from the incessant pelting, and it seemed humane 
to alleviate their suffering if possible. The men who were 
not driving again shared the battering of the big ice bullets 
with the horses, but any covering that we could put over 
them for protection was lifted by the gale. Peter Winter- 
mute's fine four-horse team, which I often took pleasure in 
driving, reared and plunged to escape. Our saddle horses 
broke loose and started off with the wind, and for twenty 
minutes the panic continued, during which the canvas- 
covered wagons creaked as if in pain. After the storm had 
passed, the fugitive horses stopped in their flight and 
slowly returned to the companionship of the other animals, 
seeking on the way to crop a little grass from the scanty 
growth. In contrast with the clear air and bright skies 
for which that country is distinguished there is tremen- 
dous vigor in the elements when turned loose in Nebraska. 

On Thursday evening we camped near Julesburg, an old 
town named in 1859 from Jules Beni, a trapper. All the 
buildings at this point had been burned by the Indians 
very recently, and we were informed that the few small 
structures there then had just been erected by the Govern- 
ment. I asked a survivor of the fire why the Indians 
burned Julesburg. The information was that they burned 
it because they wanted to. The old town, originally 
having but a few framed buildings, was familiar to all 
plainsmen, as it was the parting of two great trails. 

Near by, within an hour's walk, was Fort Sedgwick, in 
command of Captain Nicholas J. O'Brien of the 18th 
Regiment of regulars, an old time friend and comrade of 
our Captain Ben Frees. Captain O'Brien had built this 



126 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

post under the instructions of the War Department. Ben 
secured from him much valuable information concerning 
the Indian situation. Captain O'Brien in the preceding 
year had been the hero of a desperate fight with a large 
force of Indians under the wily Chief Man-afraid-of-his 
horses, and with the loss of fourteen men saved the lives 
of four stage passengers, one of whom was a woman. The 
history of some of his daring exploits is narrated in 
Coutant's Wyoming. 

In addition to one company of the 18th regulars, there 
were stationed at the post under O'Brien two companies 
of the 5th U. S. Volunteers, and a company of the 2nd U. 
S. Cavalry. We learned that on the occasion of the 
burning of the post at Julesburg, about two thousand 
savages, with yells and whoops, suddenly closed in upon 
the town, but were met by a detail of troops from the 
fort. The Indians used chiefly bows and arrows. The 
surviving soldiers were relieved after twenty -two comrades 
had been killed and scalped by the Indians. The town 
was pillaged and burned to the ground with heavy loss of 
supplies to the stage company. Fifty thousand dollars in 
money was captured from a single coach. The estimated 
loss in Julesburg as the result of this attack, which occurred 
on February 2, 1865, was $115,100. The additional losses 
sustained by Ben Holliday in the raids occurring at that 
time, including losses of horses and stages, and the various 
stage stations destroyed by the Indians along the Platte 
River, were finally placed at $375,839, for the recovery of 
which amount a bill was introduced in Congress. The 
loss to emigrants would not be reported as would that of 
stage companies that transport the U. S. Mail. The 
stage lines in those days were frequently put entirely out 
of service for a time by Indian depredations. 



DAN, THE DOCTOR 127 

If there had ever been any timber along the Platte near 
Julesburg, it had now disappeared. A small pine log six 
feet in length which, it was stated, had been brought 
sixty miles, was purchased by Paul Beemer for one dollar, 
for fire wood. That price, however, was less than its 
original cost, for Captain O'Brien stated that wood cost 
the Government W25 per cord. 

In a yard nearby, adobe or sun-dried bricks were being 
made, the size being about 8x12 inches. They were to be 
used in the rebuilding of Julesburg. None had yet been 
used in new construction. To be exact, Julesburg at the 
time of our visit consisted of six widely separated framed 
houses, on the old ruins, one being a blacksmith shop. The 
most imposing of the buildings was a billiard parlor, as 
indicated by the sign on its front. As a detachment from 
our party were sauntering by the wide-open door of the 
last named palace of amusement, an altercation had just 
commenced, the casus belli being the price of two bags of 
shelled corn. Two men who had just entered the room of 
the saloon at once approached a stalwart man who was 
pushing ivory balls across a billiard table, and demanded 
more money for the corn. "Not another cent; I paid all 
I agreed to pay," was the sharp reply of the player, who 
for a moment discontinued his game. "It's a damn lie 
and you know it, and if you don't shell out damn quick, 
we'll take it out of you, " was the call to combat delivered 
by one of the newly arrived pair who, like all others there 
except the proprietor, were transients. The big end of a 
billiard cue, swung with terrific force, instantly crashed 
against the head of the corn seller, and swiftly whirling 
again in the air it grazed the disappearing form of the 
silent partner, who escaped through the door. The 
prostrate spokesman of the pair was lifted to his feet by 



128 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

bystanders and assisted to the open air, and the game 
proceeded. 

We had previously learned that arrangements had been 
in progress for several months, with the view of holding 
an important council at Fort Laramie with several Indian 
tribes then on unfriendly terms with the whites. It was 
hoped that a treaty might settle the issues which for a 
considerable time had been the cause of continued dissen- 
sion. At Julesburg we learned that according to the latest 
advices received there, no treaty had been concluded, 
although the tribes had assembled. It was further re- 
ported that Indian warriors to the number of 15,000 had 
disappeared from their customary haunts and were appar- 
ently removing their families to safer places, preparatory 
to taking the war-path, unless a satisfactory settlement 
should be made. The question for us now to determine 
was, should we take the Bitter Creek route through 
Bridger's Pass and thus keep as far south and west of the 
disputed territory as possible, or proceed by Fort Laramie 
and *'the new cut off" by Fort Reno, the route which the 
Indians were demanding must be closed to white travel. 

A feeling of despondency prevailed among the few whites 
remaining at Julesburg, mingled with a bitter sentiment 
toward the Government for the manner in which the 
negotiations had thus far been conducted, it being the 
belief that the interests of sutlers and Indian agents had 
been treated as paramount. It seemed impossible for us 
at this time to obtain definite information as we desired, 
but the almost universal impression was that the Indians 
were being fed, armed, and otherwise put into favorable 
condition to prosecute war upon the settlers and emigrants 
whenever they should decide to turn their backs upon the 
unsatisfactory terms demanded from them. 



DAN, THE DOCTOR 129 

As is well known, Indians lack the faculty of organiza- 
tion on a large scale. Tecumseh, Pontiac, and other tribal 
leaders finally failed because of this fact. The tribes 
that were involved in the controversy to which we have 
referred were chiefly the Sioux or Dakotas, the Mountain 
Crows, the Cheyennes, and the Arapahoes. Each of these 
tribes was divided into numerous independent bands, 
each recognizing no authority beyond its own chief. A 
common language, and the tribal superstitions and cus- 
toms, are the only bond that was calculated to unite 
them, otherwise, so far as can be learned from observation 
and from various writings, they were as independent one 
of another as the Anglo-Saxon stock of Minnesota is 
independent of the same stock in Manitoba. A common 
cause might unite them for a time, but each would still be 
under its own leadership. There is no great head to the 
tribe as a whole. As the tribes are divided into bands, so 
each band is divided into villages, each having its own 
chief. Parkman states that the chiefs are *' honored and 
obeyed only so far as their personal qualities may com- 
mand respect or fear." Some chiefs have attained much 
power and are recognized in the histories of our country. 
Such were Sogoyewatha, the orator of the Senecas, Black- 
hawk of the Sacs, Red Cloud, to whom we shall refer 
later, and several other chiefs of national reputation. The 
Western Dakotas, of late years known as Sioux, had no 
fixed place of abode. They were incessantly wandering 
both in summer and winter, and the buffalo furnished 
them most of the necessities of life. Its flesh, which was 
usually sun-dried, or jerked, as the process is termed, 
furnished food; its skin their habitations and beds; its fat 
was fuel; other parts supplied powerful strings for their 
bows, also glue, thread, cordage, and boats. Was it 



130 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

strange, then, that the unnecessary slaughter of these 
valuable animals upon which they had learned to depend, 
and their slaughter on the best of the remaining hunting 
grounds, should arouse the earnest protest of the red- 
skins? 

In view of the general conditions, we held a council 
in the evening, and as arguments are easily forthcoming 
to sustain any personal desire or predilection, we, as many 
young men would have done, decided to go by the Laramie 
route. This was on the theory or pretext that we were 
likely to get over the mountains before the Indians could 
inaugurate a general warfare, and before the treaty gather- 
ing at Laramie could be concluded. As a fact, we were 
disposed to go by that route because we believed that 
more of interest promised to happen along that trail; 
besides, the natural attractions appeared more inviting 
than on the Bridger route. The rapid rise in the river, 
indeed, brought rather a serious obstacle to confront us, 
but we determined to attempt the crossing in the morning. 
For a time in the year 1864, prior to the diversion of the 
stage line to the Bridger route, a ferry was maintained 
at this crossing, but in the following year it was perma- 
nently abandoned. 

We had not forgotten to inquire after the condition of 
the wounded young driver who had preceded us. The 
post surgeon reported that he was progressing favorably 
and that the doctor who had dressed the wound had done 
it as well as could be expected of an amateur; in other 
words, he had done nothing except to bandage it. We 
were permitted to congratulate the young man on his 
safe trip to that point. 

On our way back to the camp we were surprised to come 
upon Dr. Brown's driver, John, who informed us that his 



DAN, THE DOCTOR 131 

party had just arrived. He conducted us to the doctor's 
camp, where we received a cordial southern welcome. 
When we informed Dr. Brown that we had decided to 
undertake the northern route, he requested us to be 
seated for awhile. Occupying such boxes and other 
objects as were the most available, we were soon in com- 
fortable positions. Ben and Fred made it convenient to 
sit one on either side of the girls, who were as usual side 
by side. I was pleasantly grouped with the doctor and 
his wife. John, after having stimulated the camp fire, 
found a seat upon the front of one of the wagons. The 
doctor was much older than we were, and we had observed 
that the loss of many friends during the recent war and the 
abandonment of his old Kentucky home, had filled his 
mind with sad and haunting recollections. However, he 
and his family were fine examples of the best and most 
cultured stock that went out from his state to make up 
the permanent citizenship that entered into the building 
of the West. 

For several minutes after we were all seated but few 
words were spoken. The camp fire, which had been re- 
vived for light rather than for heat, had begun to flash 
some flickering rays upon the faces of the little company 
gathered around it. Finally the doctor said: "I much 
regret that our paths must separate, and though our own 
plans are somewhat uncertain, I hope that we may meet 
again. " 

In travel of the kind we have been describing, acquaint- 
ance often ripens more rapidly than in ordinary life. 
Without preliminaries, we proceeded to recite the incidents 
of our journey since our first separation from their party, 
though Ben and Fred joined in the conversation but 
incidentally, finding much more of interest in the subdued 



132 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

conversation they contrived to carry on with the young 
ladies. The fact that Ben (then hardly twenty -one 
years of age) had been a first-lieutenant in a Wisconsin 
regiment in active service, did not seem to lessen his 
admiration for the southern girl with dark hair, and 
possibly not for the dignified father, who may have faced 
him on some southern battlefield. Ben was a noble 
fellow of sterling worth and character. His sincerity and 
good sense were sure to make their impression upon any 
one whom he might meet. Fred was quite as true, and 
there was charm in his presence. There they sat beside 
those bright but serious young ladies, quietly making the 
best of the fleeting moments. 

**Boys, " I said, "don't you think it is time to leave 
our friends and return to camp, — for we must try that 
ford early in the morning, you know?" 

My admonition roused the boys to a realization of the 
fact that the hour was late. We rose from our seats, 
exchanged a hearty goodbye with the Browns, and after 
lingering a moment with the young ladies on the edge of 
the shadow of the wagons made by the camp fire, we tore 
ourselves away and started through the darkness towards 
our own camp. We separated, not expecting to meet the 
Browns again, but we met them once more on this strange 
and interesting highway. 



CHAPTER XI 

Fording the Platte in High Water 

EARLY on the following morning, as a sufficient 
number of men and teams to conform to the 
requirements of the War Department had been 
reported as ready to proceed, we were at the 
river's edge prepared to attempt the ford. During low 
water many of the numerous sand bars in the river cover 
wide areas. But now the swiftly surging waters which had 
risen perceptibly during the night swept over all the island 
bars, leaving the depressions between them of uncertain 
depth, because the water loaded with -clay and sand was 
opaque as flowing mud can be. A number of teams be- 
longing to different parties were hurriedly prepared to 
make the crossing, as the river was still rising. Many 
drivers removed their boots, and a few whose wardrobes 
were limited went even farther and hung the greater part 
of their garments in wagons. The general course taken 
through the stream by the last preceding travelers might 
now be more unsafe than some other route, because of 
the constant shifting of the quicksands. 

As a preliminary step, it was decided that mounted men 
from the several outfits that were to cross should test 
various parts of the river by different routes. Stripping 
the saddles from their horses, those who were willing to 

133 



134 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

attempt the passage started in from as many different 
points. For two or three rods in each course tested, the 
water was found to be rather shallow, but further on it 
varied greatly along the different routes. The water 
being muddy, there was no visible indication of its depth 
in advance of the rider, except that at the deepest points 
the current, being less impeded, was much swifter and was 
also indicated by broad, undulating swells. When about 
one-fourth of the way over, my horse dropped into a very 
deep channel, where he could obtain no footing. In all 
such places, the horse and rider swiftly drifted down the 
river, swimming in the direction of the objective point on 
the opposite shore. Nearly all of those who participated 
in this preliminary trip seemed to doubt the practicability 
of a safe crossing. The rider, however, who had kept the 
furthest up the stream had found a footing for his horse 
through nearly the entire course, there being but one 
place where for a moment he seemed to lose his hold on the 
bottom; and that was approximately the route adopted. 

The tendency of all who crossed, was to be carried down 
the stream, and all came out on the north bank a long 
distance below the point which they aimed to reach. A 
trigonometrical measurement of the river, taken with a 
sextant, gave the width as 792 yards; Root gives the width 
as being one-half mile. But our proposed course, being 
serpentine and quite in the form of the letter S, was about 
seven-eighths of a mile in length. The general course 
having been agreed upon, the final preparations were 
quickly made for the start. As oxen are the safest animals 
to use in this kind of work, it was arranged that the ox 
team wagons should move in advance. Eighteen yoke of 
oxen — in other words, the teams from three wagons — 
were hitched to a single wagon, each making a combined 



FORDING THE PLATTE IN HIGH WATER 135 

team more than 200 feet in length. Four such teams were 
made ready. The heaviest men were assigned to ride on 
the backs of all the lead oxen, to bear them down as low 
as possible into the water, so that they would be less 
inclined to float in deep water and lose their footing. 
Oxen in swimming do not sink as low in the water as either 
mules or horses. The instructions to the drivers of all 
teams were to direct them constantly somewhat up 
stream, that they might eventually reach the opposite 
shore as nearly as possible directly opposite the place of 
starting, for they would be sure to drift more or less. 

The importance of a very long team in fording such a 
turbulent river of varying depth is that when the lead 
teams find water so deep that it lifts their feet from the 
bottom, and they are compelled to float and swing down 
stream, then the middle teams, urged on by their riders and 
the horsemen who ride alongside, may keep the wagon 
moving and somewhere near its true course; but it must 
be kept moving. When the lead oxen have again secured 
a footing in shallow water, they must again be turned up 
stream, to straighten out the whole line and aid in pulling 
intermediate teams over the deep places. A minute halt 
of a loaded wagon in the soft quicksand is likely to be 
very serious, as the rushing current will quickly under- 
mine it and it will rapidly settle to the wagon bed. 

All these points having been forcefully impressed upon 
the men, the ox drivers vaulted to their positions, each 
astride of an ox. Horsemen were in waiting at the right, 
or down stream side, to assist in keeping the cattle from 
drifting. No saddles were used on the animals, and the 
men were barefooted, for when the horses should sink 
with their backs below the water, saddles and shoes would 
become encumbrances. 



136 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

The captain having mounted on his horse, both being 
divested of unncessary trappings, galloped down the line 
shouting to the men of each team, "Come right along in 
line quick. Follow me and keep 'er moving!" The first 
of the four long teams filed behind the Captain and with 
some urging splashed down into the muddy swirling 
waters, and the others followed in their wake. We who 
knew that our time was soon to come stood upon the 
bank and earnesth' watched every movement in their pro- 
gress. We saw the Captain's horse suddenly sink over 
his flanks into the first deep unseen channel and plunge 
madly until he reached footing on a sand bar beyond, 
over which only two feet of water flowed. There the 
Captain turned and halted to direct the drivers who were 
urging their teams onward through the soft quicksand. 
It was a dangerous place, but there could be no retreat 
for the long teams and heavy wagons. The men were 
shouting at the top of their voices, but above the shouts 
of the men and the grumbling swash of the waters, we 
heard the Captain call, "Come on, keep 'er moving! 
Keep 'er moving; keep up stream!" But when the first 
oxen dropped into the deep channel they floated swiftly 
down with the resistless current in a tangled mass, and 
then the horsemen and ox-riders directed their efforts to 
turn the swimming leaders toward the Captain. As I 
learned later, the drivers while in the broad swift stream 
hardly knew where they were, or in what direction they 
were going. Everything in sight was going down, down, 
and the eye having no fixed object near-by on which to 
rest, w^as continually led astray by the flotsam rushing by. 
For a time the whole team from our view-point seemed 
to be an inextricable mix-up, but finally the lead oxen 
reached a footing in shallower water and were turned up 



FORDING THE PLATTE IN HIGH WATER 137 

stream toward the Captain. After being urged forward, 
they partially straightened out the long line and the heavy 
wagon slowly continued to move, but soon it also sank 
down into the deep channel where the swift waters swept 
its sides. 

"It's going over!" shouted more than one who stood 
on the shore, as the wagon reeled from one side to another 
on the soft, uneven, sandy bottom. 

"Keep 'er going, keep 'er moving!" was then yelled 
continuously by the drivers and Captain, as they urged 
the teams to pull harder, and this continued until the 
wagon slowly rose in shallower water. But they must 
not stop even there in these quicksands, nor until they 
had reached the other shore. There was still much more 
of the deep rushing water farther on in the river. A like 
experience was shared by each team, as it went through 
the deep places. 

The four w^agons were finally pulled out upon the 
farther bank, and the oxen were returned to repeat the 
struggle with other loads. Our time had now come and 
delay would be dangerous, for the river was rising. There- 
fore, as soon as the first ox team had accomplished the 
first deep channel, Pete Wintermute started into the 
river with his wagon and four horses. Pete was a superb 
horseman and managed his team with discretion, but it 
seemed almost certain at times that his w^agon was cap- 
sizing. The remainder of our party could not long delay 
to watch his uncertain progress, for each had his own 
diflScult responsibility. 

My attention was chiefly directed to Deacon Cobb and 
Ben and Fred, whose wagons had each but one span of 
horses. The Deacon, after progressing swimmingly for a 
time, became hopelessly stuck on a sand bar where the 



138 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

water was not more than two feet in depth. Ben and 
Fred were also stuck down stream about twenty rods 
below the Deacon. It was imperative that their teams 
should be combined. It was clearly impossible to get a 
team up stream to the Deacon. I dismounted and un- 
hitched the Deacon's horses, and with whiffletrees in 
hand turned them floating down toward the boys' wagon. 
At times I passed through deep water in which the horses 
swam, always knowing that I was likely soon to strike 
another sand bar. Before reaching Ben's w^agon, one of 
the whiffletrees became detached, a pin having come out 
in the deep water. The harness generally was out of order. 
The boys were in the water and were soon busy, tying 
parts together and doubling up the teams, using any 
straps and ropes that were available. In time they were 
as ready as could be, under the circumstances, to move 
onward, and were soon breasting the current, while I rode 
beside them on horseback. 

At this juncture there arose great commotion in ad- 
vance of us. Among the parties who were making this 
watery transit were two brothers, each driving a two-mule 
team, their wagons being loaded with fancy groceries with 
which they intended to start a business in Montana. 
They were driving nearly side by side. I observed both 
their mules and wagons sink into a deep channel, almost 
simultaneously and both wagons rolled completely over 
being caught in a powerful current. The mules of both 
teams, entangled in their harness, were soon kicking and 
floundering in their efforts to escape, while the frantic 
young men, at the peril of their lives, were trying each to 
release his own mules by cutting their harness. Two of 
the mules were drowned, the wagons were a hopeless 
wreck, and I saw many of the lighter boxes and packages 



FORDING THE PLATTE IN HIGH WATER 139 

from their cargo floating down the stream. The stock was 
a total loss. Ben and Fred had no time to watch these col- 
lateral occurences, for they were endeavoring to manage a 
four-horse team that had never been driven in that form, 
and might have been found diflScult at first to control 
even on a solid highway. 

The evening was well advanced when Ben and the 
drivers of two other of our wagons pulled out from the 
northern bank. Dan Trippe was two or three hours in 
advance of any of our party. We had been in the water 
the entire day, and laboring every moment to the extent 
of our ability. Several animals had been drowned, but 
our sympathy went out especially toward the young men 
who had lost their all and were now stranded with two 
mules. 

And how about Deacon Cobb? He was sitting alone in 
his wagon in absolute serenity when I, who had seen him 
last, had parted from him. His wagon had then settled 
to the axles in the quicksand, and the muddy waters were 
swiftly sweeping by it and through it. He had piled boxes 
and other articles in the center of the wagon box and had 
surmounted the pile with his little mattress, which he had 
rolled into a bundle. I saw him perched upon the summit 
patiently awaiting developments. In the meantime the 
waters had filled the box. He was near the middle of 
the river. The rest of his party now being safely across, 
we shouted to him through the gathering darkness of the 
evening, to assure him that we would come to him as soon 
as possible. If he responded to our call it was not heard 
above the sound of the running waters. The wagon was 
so deeply imbedded in the mud that it seemed a dubious 
task to pull him out with our weary and hungry horses. 

We endeavored to negotiate with the captain of the ox- 



140 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

team wagons for assistance, but he replied that he would 
not have his weary men and stock undertake the hazardous 
task for five hundred dollars at that late hour. The point 
was urged that a good man's life was involved, and that 
our teams were absolutely unequal to the undertaking, as 
he well knew. He finally consented to send three men with 
four yoke of oxen to make the attempt, upon the pay- 
ment of forty dollars, to which terms we cheerfully agreed. 
The oxen were sent for and yoked in the darkness, and 
soon were in the river on the way to the rescue. The men 
stated on their return that after a time their course was 
directed by the Deacon's voice, which was finally heard 
in the distance and approximately indicated his location. 
After a long period of comparative silence the approach of 
the rescuing party to the shore was announced by cheers 
from the drivers. The Deacon when pulled up to the 
shore was the calmest and most comfortable man in the 
party, although he had been fully aware of his critical 
situation. He was moreover the only dry object in the 
wagon. 

The bacon in our mess wagon was not seriously injured 
by its baptism, and at 9 p. m., we regaled our empty 
stomachs with such of it as could be readily found. My 
own trunk, containing garments and papers, had suffered 
little. Like Homer's horses, we had to await the throned 
dawn before drying ourselves. In the early morning the 
caravan moved onward five miles to where sage brush was 
found for fuel and some grass for the horses, there being 
practically none near the place of crossing. There we 
took an inventory of our effects, and all were unloaded 
that we might dry them out. We had received on our 
arrival at Nebraska City a box of ginger snaps and some 
other delicacies, also some dried fruit, sent by friends at 



FORDING THE PLATTE IN HIGH WATER 141 

home. These had been carefully retained for use in an 
emergency, perhaps in case of illness, when some change 
of diet from rough camp fare might be welcome. The 
box was now for the first time re-opened, as the hour had 
come to test it, but all those dainty tributes of good-will 
were blended into a common mass, of the consistency of 
thin pudding, and no one article could be separated from 
another. The box had been filled with sand and water 
for nearly twenty-four hours, and in the meantime had 
been thoroughly shaken up. It was gratifying, however, 
to find that a bag of dried apples, also reserved for some 
state occasion, had about doubled its bulk since leaving 
Nebraska City. In this case the high water might seem 
to have been a blessing, in disguise, but the disguise was 
perfect, for when we again dried them out in the hot sun 
and gave them a little time to re-adjust themselves to the 
environment, they gradually resumed their original modest 
proportions. The pudding left as the residue of the cookies 
was re-cooked, but for dietary purposes it was hardly 
satisfactory, as it yielded only a gritty, earthy-tasting 
food. 

The final consensus of opinion was that we would never 
again ford the Platte during high water. 



CHAPTER XII 

The Phantom Liar of Grease Wood Desert 

A portion of the compound constituting the 
waters of the Platte, with which many of our 
effects were saturated, passed into the air by 
evaporation in the sun, but a residuum of clay 
and sand long remained as a reminder of the day spent in 
the muddy flood of that river. We were happy to find 
that our ammunition was uninjured. We waited three 
days for the arrival of Phillip's mule train, which was at 
Julesburg and with which we expected to proceed, but 
finally learned that it would not hazard an attempt to ford 
a river that had proved so disastrous to others. In the 
meantime we hunted sage hens and jack rabbits, which 
were numerous in that sage brush country. 

It has often been said of Yankee mechanics that they 
are "Jacks of all trades and masters of none. " Necessity 
has made them self-reliant. Such were we, and the delay 
afforded us an opportunity to put everything in good order. 
Although there were no harness makers, blacksmiths, or 
carpenters, to repair harness or wagons, no horseshoers to 
shoe the horses, and no shoemakers or tailors to mend 
boots or garments, nearly every member of our company 
showed himself fully qualified to do very satisfactory work 
and with few tools in each of these lines of industry. The 

142 



PHANTOM LIAR OF GREASE WOOD DESERT 143 

valuable miscellaneous training in the primitive days in 
our country, when the trades were not specialized as they 
are now, fitted the young men of that time for such emer- 
gencies. 

Deciding that our present situation justified a violation 
of army regulations, we moved forward alone to the 
crossing of Lodge Pole Creek, a milky-colored stream 
about fifteen feet in width. They told us at Julesburg 
that the Indians were accustomed to obtain lodge poles 
from a place near the distant sources of this stream, a 
fact to which it owed its euphonious name. 

We had camped some distance from the trail, and 
having taken our horses over the ridge into another ravine, 
had picketed them on the best grass that could be found. 
It was my duty to stand guard and watch the horses until 
midnight. The night was clear and still, and although 
it was bright starlight, it seemed to be very dark in the 
ravine. I took a position slightly up the hillside and 
reclined with ear near the ground. About midnight there 
came seemingly from some very distant source, a low, deep, 
rumbling roar. For a time it was impossible even to sur- 
mise the cause. It seemed to be subterranean and yet it 
was not an earthquake, for the sound was continuous and 
gradually increased in depth and power. In a few minutes 
I became convinced that it was caused by the hoofs of a 
great number of running horses approaching through the 
ravine. As a measure of precaution I thought it best to 
move a little out of the valley to a position behind a 
growth of sage brush near-by, and there await develop- 
ments. An Indian raid at midnight was hardly to be 
suspected, nor had we heard of any large body of cavalry 
in those parts. The sound increased in power like the 
roar of an approaching tornado, and an onrushing mass 



144 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

finally swept round the nearest curve in the ravine. Our 
horses, frightened by the approaching herd, suddenly 
started in advance, as could be inferred from their snort- 
ing and the rattle of the iron picket pins, some of which 
were pulled from the ground. All were soon in flight. 
Those which failed at once to escape were carried along 
the next moment with a solid, resistless tide of oncoming 
mules which leaped one upon another. As the drove 
swept by I caught glimpses here and there of the moving 
forms, which showed that the mules were riderless; being 
stampeded, their fright was communicated to one another 
— those in the rear crowding upon those in front; and some 
of them, I believe, stumbled and were run over by the 
compact mass that followed. In a moment all had passed; 
but for a long time in the direction of a range of hills to 
the west, could be heard the roar of hundreds of hoofs and 
the ring of the picket pins as they were dragged over the 
st^ny ground. The sound did not die away entirely in 
its slow diminuendo until the mules had passed the range 
six miles to the west. On visiting the spot where our 
horses had been picketed, we found that every one of them 
had been carried away in the mad rush, and unless we 
could recover them the inconveniences would be most 
serious. The natural conclusion then was that the large 
herd had been stampeded by mounted Indians, who would 
soon follow. 

When about to return to camp to report the situation 
to our party, I became conscious of the approach of mount- 
ed men from the same direction as that from which the 
stampede came. 

I soon heard their voices. They proved to be four men 
on horseback, who (I then suspected) might have caused 
the rush. Myself a party to the loss of stock, and be- 



PHANTOM LIAR OF GREASE WOOD DESERT 145 

lieving it to be my duty quickly to summon our party, I 
fired my rifle in advance of the riders. Wishing to make 
myself appear as numerous as possible, I repeated the 
challenge with two or three additional shots in rapid suc- 
cession, and with as firm a voice as I could command 
called to the riders to halt. To my surprise they did halt. 
One of the men grufily asked, "Who are you?'' Another 
shouted what seemed rather an incoherent declaration, 
the tenor of which as I caught it, was in effect that I was 
shooting at the United States Government. Perhaps it 
was the darkness and the fact that I was out of their reach 
that inspired me with sufficient confidence to order them 
not to proceed further until we could ascertain who they 
were. The pronoun "we" was used not only to emphasize 
the authority of the speaker and thereby command respect, 
but also on the theory that the more numerous I could 
make myself appear the safer I was likely to be until our 
boys should arrive in response to the rifle call. As was 
expected, our men rounded up very quickly, for our camp- 
ers were not compelled to dress and make an elaborate 
toilet on receiving a call. A mutual investigation followed, 
through w^hich we learned that a Government train of 
which we had no previous knowledge had camped three 
miles northwest of our trail, and their stock, about 240 in 
number, had been stampeded through the carelessness or 
folly of one their own drivers; and the animals were away 
before their men were prepared to start in pursuit. They 
had been able to find a few saddle horses which had been 
picketed and had not escaped in the panic. On being 
informed very definitely concerning the direction which 
the flying herd had taken, the riders, after giving the 
assurance that all of our horses would in time doubtless 
be returned, started on their hunt. After daybreak they 



146 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

encountered no difficulty in following their course, which 
was well marked by hoof tracks; and in the forenoon all 
of our horses were once more at our command, but none 
the better for their escapade. 

This Lodge Pole Creek ford became of some interest 
to overland travelers by reason of the fact that some 
years later the old Oregon trail, which we were still pur- 
suing, was here crossed by the Union Pacific Railroad, 
which up to this point along much of its course was built 
exactly upon the trail marked by the first Mormon emi- 
grants in 1847, following many of its windings. This fact 
suggests a striking comparison between the early and the 
later modes of travel. Our party, moving as steadily 
as possible, had consumed twenty-five days in reaching 
this point from the Missouri River. Ben Holliday's stages, 
when they followed the route that we were taking, reached 
Lodge Pole on the fifth day, being driven continuously 
night and day with relays of horses every ten or fifteen 
miles. It is now reached in twelve hours by express 
trains. 

Our next day's journey after leaving Pole Creek was 
over a series of ridges along an excellent roadway the great 
part of the distance. The highest points disclosed fine 
views of the rocky cliffs along the North Platte. There is 
a marked change in the general features of the country as 
compared with those seen along the Platte valley east of 
Julesburg. The road showed that it had been traveled 
but little. We were able to make a drive of twenty-eight 
miles, reaching Mud Spring in the evening. Why this 
tiny fountain should be so denominated is unknown and 
unknowable; it was the first clear, living water that we 
had seen west of the Missouri River, except in a few wells 
at stage stations. In February of the preceding year this 



PHANTOM LIAR OF GREASE WOOD DESERT 147 

spot was the scene of some sharp fights with the Indians. 

And now there lay immediately before us the longest 
and most difficult drive of the trip, concerning which we 
had secured much information. It would conduct us 
across a wide stretch of sandy desert in which there was 
no pasturage; and forty long miles must be laid behind 
in order to reach a camp ground where there was any 
grazing whatever for horses. The preceding day had been 
intensely hot, and there were no indications of any imme- 
diate change in the temperature. To secure the benefit 
of the cooler early hours we were off at exactly three 
o'clock in the morning. Near where we entered the 
dreary waste of sand we parallelled for a short distance a 
small stream, concerning which we had been advised 
that it was the only desirable place for lunch. We had 
prepared some cold boiled beans, bacon and coffee, which 
we pulled from the mess box, and as the rays of the sun 
had now become very oppressive, we prepared to drop 
down upon the hot sand in the shade of a wagon. The 
Deacon protected himself somewhat from the sands by 
sitting upon a rolled-up blanket. Others remained stand- 
ing or dropped upon their knees, but Pete remarked that 
as the tallest and largest man in the party he was fairly en- 
titled to a certain high mound of sand of convenient 
shape, which he found well in the shade. These piles were 
formed by some little clumps of grease wood, or similar 
growth, which the sand had drifted round and in many 
cases entirely covered, as a little obstruction will some- 
times collect a small snow drift. 

Pete, who was a tall, powerful, but rather slow-moving 
individual, dropped wearily and heavily upon the sand 
heap which he proposed to occupy by right of squatter 
sovereignty. Although it was a long distance from the 



148 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

seat of Pete's *' pants" to the seat of his intelHgenee, yet 
the information was quickly transmitted to his brain that 
something was under him that was not all sand. With a 
sudden yell, as if stung by a serpent, he leaped into the air 
with agility and enthusiasm of which he had hitherto 
been deemed altogether incapable. Peter swore. He 
then inspected the sand pile, while we watched him with 
dismay, being ignorant of the cause of his frenzy. Reach- 
ing out at arm's length, he cautiously poked the mound 
with his whip stock and found, not a rattlesnake, but 
only an oval-shaped cactus slightly concealed beneath 
the sand. Its long spines as sharp as needles and almost 
uncountable in number, under the weight of Pete's body 
had penetrated his flesh no one yet knows how far. As 
the punctured parts could not easily be examined by the 
sufferer, his companion, Noah, performed the operation 
of removing such of the needles as were visible. Many 
without doubt remained, for during the next two or three 
days Peter walked with short steps, staccato, and rarely 
indulged in a sitting posture. 

The stream near which we had halted afforded the 
last opportunity to obtain water until we should complete 
the long drive across the sands. Our horses were fed with 
fine wheat flour, the only nourishment which we could 
secure to stay them through the day. After having filled 
the water kegs and canteens from the stream, the diflicult 
march was continued. The day was so intensely hot 
that nearly all members of the party walked to relieve the 
perspiring horses. The country we were traversing was 
an area of loose, dry sand. Its surface was marked by 
small mounds and ridges of sand, the ridges all trending in 
one direction and evidently drifted with the prevailing 
wind behind a clump of stunted grease wood, a small 



PHANTOM LIAR OF GREASE WOOD DESERT 149 

shrub which grows on alkaline soils and, like other desert 
growths, is stiff and stubby, — possibly a provision of 
nature to preserve its scant foliage from being browsed; 
shrubs so protected remained, a survival of the fittest. 
Some such provision is certainly necessary to protect the 
plant life of the desert in its struggle for existence. The 
surface of the sand was slightly hardened by a thin scale, 
possibly due to solidification in drying, after a passing 
shower had moistened the salts in the sand. The scale in 
many places prevented the wheels from sinking deeply. 
The wagons were, therefore, scattered along side by side, 
because a track once followed was deeply cut in the ruts. 
Numerous lizards (swifts) glided along the parched sur- 
face of the Sahara and were the only specimens of animal 
life that I observed there with any interest. 

An experience on this grease wood desert may have 
prompted the inquiry ascribed to one of our statesmen, 
who is alleged to have asked in 1843 concerning this west- 
ern territory, " What do we want with the vast worthless 
area, this region of savages and wild beasts, of deserts of 
shifting sands and whirlwinds of dust, of cactus and 
prairie dogs.'^" 

In spite of the oppressive heat of the day and the long 
tramp still before us, Ben, who was tough and untiring, 
proposed a little side tramp by way of diversion. For 
many miles we had observed the majestic outlines of the 
conspicuous landmark well known as Court House Rock. 
As our course finally approached within two miles of its 
cliffs, Ben and I determined to secure a view from its 
summit. That remarkable monument stands in solitary 
grandeur upon the barren plain; it has, however, a worthy 
associate not far away, another prominence known as the 
Jail; these high bluffs are appropriately named. From a 



150 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

distance Court House Rock has the appearance of some 
vast, ancient ruin. The grandeur and beauty of its out- 
lines and the majesty of its proportions have made it a 
notable landmark for all travelers who pass that way. 
We found its ascent comparatively easy, but the descent 
was somewhat difficult because of the projecting terraces 
which, though of hard material, were cracked, leaving 
projections that could not be depended upon for support. 
Although we might well have saved our energies for the 
hot tramp through the sands which lay before us, we 
obtained views of the "bad lands" to the west, which 
were very impressive. 

It seemed as if in the Creation there had been a vast 
amount of crude material left over, which had been dumped 
into that waste, but the essential elements of life were 
wholly absent. As far as could be seen through the clear, 
hot, and quivering air of noonday everything was silent 
and dead. On reaching the trail Ben and I followed the 
track of our wagons in the white sand, which glowed like 
a furnace, and finally overtook our party, which was 
slowly dragging along with occasional pauses for rest. 

We had seen no person during the day except members 
of our own party. Beyond the border of the sandy waste 
I dropped back again, but this time with Noah, who was 
also wearily trudging along now over a more hilly and 
broken country toward the north Platte. We were sur- 
prised to see approaching us from the north, as if about 
to cross our course, a long-haired individual, rather tough 
in appearance, with whom we exchanged a few common- 
place words, with the usual question as to what he was 
"driving at" in that country, but obtained no definite 
information. Having been informed that there were 
numerous rattlesnakes in the hilly country, I aimed a 



PHANTOM LIAR OF GREASE WOOD DESERT 151 

question concerning snakes at the presence that stood 
before us. Something in his appearance led me to beUeve 
that he, if anyone, would be informed on the subject. 
"Yes," he replied, '"there's right smart of rattlesnakes 
around here." Simply to continue the conversation, we 
asked if he had killed many. Before making any reply 
he slowly hauled from deep down in his "pants" pocket a 
plug of tobacco, and inserting it between his big teeth 
chewed off a section that proved to be large enough to 
interfere somewhat with his articulation. He then stood 
silent for a moment, while he transferred the tobacco 
from one cheek to another. The cynical expression upon 
his face impressed us with the idea that he had all the 
qualities required to make a first class stranger. He then 
related an alleged experience with a rattlesnake. Al- 
though not inclined to accept it as exactly true in all 
particulars, we offer it here not quite in ipsissimis verbis 
but substantially as given, simply for what it may be 
worth as a problematic contribution to natural history. 
His thesis at the outset was, that if one gains the affection 
of a rattlesnake through some special act of kindness the 
serpent may on some occasions afterward express its pro- 
found gratitude. 

He said that his "pardner" Jim, once upon a time, 
discovered a six-foot rattler lying fastened under a rock 
which had rolled upon it while it was lying torpid in the 
sun. Instead of taking advantage of the reptile while it 
was in this helpless condition, he carefully released it, and 
thereafter the snake on many occasions manifested indica- 
tions of its gratitude, and became a veritable pet, follow- 
ing the man wherever it was permitted to go, and guard- 
ing him faithfully. Jim, therefore, called it Annie, be- 
cause he came from Indiana. 



152 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

On being awakened one night, Jim, observing that 
Annie was missing from her usual place near his bed, 
hastily arose to discover the cause of her absence. Light- 
ing a candle, he opened an outside door of the ranch house 
and soon heard Annie rattling her tail. He then dis- 
covered that the snake had run a skulking Indian into 
the other room, and was holding him there a prisoner, 
while her tail, which was sticking out of the window, was 
ratthng like a dinner bell, calling Jim to come in and help 
kill the "cuss." 

We asked the red-headed, pink-eyed, big-mustached 
rancher if this was really a true story, and if his own 
personal reputation would give credit to his statements. 
He replied that he had lived in those parts for seven years 
and had never yet been lynched. This was surely to be 
accepted in that elementary waste as an evidence of good 
moral character. He admitted that he had a few horses 
off in the hills which he could part with in case a prospec- 
tive buyer was anxious to get some fresh ones, but we did 
not ask him to produce any evidence of his title to the 
animals. The conclusion of this instructive and interest- 
ing incident afforded the narrator a much needed oppor- 
tunity to discharge from his mouth a large quantity of 
tobacco juice, which for a considerable time had interfered 
with his enunciation. 

His reference to the Indian led us to ask if many Sioux 
were now in that country. In reply to this question he 
hesitated a few moments, while with a hand in each of his 
pockets he turned his eyes in various directions as if the 
subjects of which he was to speak might be concealed in 
some of the gullies near-by. He finally said there were 
right smart of 'em along the North Platte here a while ago, 
" but I guess most of them have gone up to Laramie. They 



PHANTOM LIAR OF GREASE WOOD DESERT 153 

don't bother me very much, but the other day my pardner 
was out and I was all alone in the shanty and my horse 
was hitched in front. I went out the door for something 
and there were six Indians a-coming up in a hurry. When 
they saw me three of 'em shot at me but didn't fetch me. 
I ain't no sucker with a gun, but I only had one six-shooter 
in my belt and knowed it was no time for fooling." Ac- 
companying his words with action showing how he did it, 
he added, "I jerked out my gun jest so, and give it to 'em, 
and there was jest enough cartridges in it to go around, 
but they went around." 

"Do you mean to say that you didn't miss a shot?" 
asked Noah. "Oh, I'm all right with a gun; them Injuns 
won't bother me any more." Astounded at the man's 
coolness and bravery, I asked if the Indians had guns. 
He replied that they had bows, but they started in at 
pretty long range for bows and arrows. 

At that moment we heard three or four rifle shots which 
attracted our attention toward the direction which our 
train had taken. The train was now out of our sight. 
We both concluded that some of the boys had discovered 
game. Turning again toward the spot where a minute 
before had stood the daring hero of Grease Wood Desert, 
we discovered that he had vanished and no sign or trace of 
him was visible. The only possible avenue by which he 
could disappear and still remain in the flesh was by a 
narrow, crooked ravine near the ill-defined trail. We 
hastened to its margin, but no sight or sound that came to 
our senses gave us the slightest clue to the manner of his 
transformation or disappearance. His abiding place may 
have been either in Avernus or down the ravine, for, 
although possibly not dark enough, the latter was certainly 
hot enough that day for the former in climate. 



154 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

Noah and I had been so much delayed that we hastened 
on our course walking side by side, overtaking our wagons 
before they reached the valley of the North Platte near 
Brown's ranch, where we camped. We were there in- 
formed that our teams, which were much fagged, had 
traveled forty miles during the day. The rifle shots that 
we heard had been directed at jack rabbits. 

On our side trip I suffered not so much from fatigue as 
from an acute headache, which developed toward the close 
of the day as a result of the intense heat and of the miser- 
able food we had eaten. Fred had brought with him a 
few simple drugs from a store in which he was interested 
at home. Among them was tincture of camphor. He 
administered a dose of the stuff, which immediately caused 
all the mechanism of my stomach to assert its rights in the 
most vehement manner. It expelled everything except 
the camphor, which, being no longer held in solution, 
solidified into a chunk. At times it rose into my throat 
for an instant and then gradually settled down again to 
resume its activities. The stomach being unable to expel 
the camphor gum then endeavored to expel itself in its 
entirety, but as the organ was fastened down in some 
mysterious fashion, it could only turn itself wrong side 
out and twist itself in the most unsatisfactory manner. 
The remainder of the drug supply was then placed at my 
disposal, but I declined longer to permit my stomach to 
be used as a chemical laboratory in which to test drugs of 
unknown qualities. Not until the solidified gum had 
been expelled was there any domestic peace. 

Near the course that we had followed to this camp is 
the battle field where in 1855 General William S. Harney 
slaughtered the Brule Sioux Indians in a terrific fight in 
which 500 savages are said to have perished at what is 



PHANTOM LIAR OF GREASE WOOD DESERT 155 

known as Ash Hollow. Harney had served in the Black 
Hawk war and also in our war with Mexico. 

On the following day we passed Chimney Rock, visible 
for a great distance and a striking feature of the landscape. 
It is about 260 feet in height. Captain Howard Stansbury, 
an early traveler wrote of it: "This singular formation has 
been undoubtedly at one time a projecting shoulder of the 
main chain of bluffs bounding the valley of the Platte 
and has been separated from it by the action of water. 
That the shaft has been very much higher than at present 
is evident from the corresponding formation of the bluff, 
as well as from the testimony of all our voyagers, for whom 
it was for years a beacon visible for forty or fifty miles 
both up and down the river." 

It was the opinion of Mr. James Bridger that this emi- 
nence had been reduced to its present height by lightning 
or some other energy of nature, from the change he ob- 
served in it on his return from one of his trips to St. 
Louis, for when he had passed it on his way down, it was 
uninjured. 

After still another long day's drive up the valley of the 
swift flowing North Platte, through patches of stunted 
sage brush and grease wood, we paused for the night. The 
terraced height of Scott's Bluffs loomed in the distance. 
Almost behind them, the glowing sun sank beneath the 
sharply defined horizon, and the shadows of night brought 
welcome relief after another day of intense heat. 



CHAPTER XIII 

The Mystery of Scott's Bluffs 

AS is well known, a wonderful story may be 
enfolded in the mute testimony of the hills and 
rocks, and far more enduring than ever written 
by human hands. Some of these interesting 
records, open to any observer, are as plainly written in 
the exposed cliffs of Scott's Bluffs as in any spot that I 
have known. Their location was noted upon the old 
maps partly perhaps because they had received a name in 
memory of the tragic death from starvation of a man who 
was deserted by his companions on Laramie Fork. Scott 
was too ill to continue his journey, and the entire party 
was destitute of provisions. He lived, however, to make 
his way alone to these Bluffs, where his remains were 
eventually found. The altitude of the Bluffs as given in 
the Government survey is 4,662 feet above sea level, a 
fact in no way remarkable except as fixing the highest 
elevation attained in Nebraska. 

The isolated position of this vast pile makes it a con- 
spicuous object when viewed from no matter what direc- 
tion. It rises abruptly from a comparatively level plain 
upon which it was once believed no vegetable life could 
ever grow, for the surface of the surrounding country was 
as barren and bare as a brick pavement. The rock at once 

156 



THE MYSTERY OF SCOTT'S BLUFFS 157 

arouses interest by virtue of its beautifully terraced forma- 
tion, and picturesque outlines embellished with towers 
and castles, the handiwork of Nature. There it stands, 
in majestic solitude, guarding its silent chambers, innum- 
erable records of a remote antiquity, — an ancient ruin 
compared with which the storied monuments in the valley 
of the Nile are modern and insignificant. 

It was not, however, because of its hoary age and un- 
fathomable mystery, but because of its beauty as it 
appealed to the eye, and because of the promise of a wide 
outlook from its summit, that I determined to make the 
ascent. When our train had reached the point at which 
our pathway approached nearest the bluff, I relieved 
myself of all impedimenta except a revolver and a field 
glass, and started alone for the climb. 

From a distance along some of the channels that scarred 
the sides of the bluffs, could be seen a line of small cedars 
and a few shrubs that had fastened themselves in some 
way in the fissures of that inhospitable heap of indurated 
clay. Discovering on the north side of the southern bluff 
what appeared to be a continuous ravine intersecting the 
numerous level terraces, I concluded that the ascent along 
that course would not be difficult. To that ravine my 
steps were directed. 

The ascent was indeed not difficult as that term would 
be used of mountain climbing. Terrace after terrace was 
passed, each capped or protected by a stratum slightly 
harder than the main body of the bluff, which is the true 
formation of the Bad Lands and is now known by geolo- 
gists as Brule clay. These thin, hard layers yielding more 
slowly to the action of the elements than does the inter- 
vening hard clay, there results the formation of terraces 
with level tops and perpendicular sides, as the general face 



158 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

of the bluffs disintegrates. The summit, being reached, 
was found to be comparatively level, with a number 
of prominences upon it a few feet in height, but each also 
with a level surface, the remains of a still higher terrace. 
Upon one of these I observed a thin, hard stratum in which 
numerous shells were tightly imbedded. Ascending one 
of those small level areas upon the highest summit, from 
which the best view of the country toward the south 
could be obtained, I enjoyed through the field glasses a 
superb panorama of the surrounding landscape. Far in 
the distance towards the south, other bluffs of similar 
formation, and separated one from another by many miles 
of lowland, rise to nearly the same level. Among them is 
Dome Rock, not far away. I was not then aware of the 
fact that among the prominences visible far away in the 
distance were Court House Rock, which we had climbed 
several days previous and Castle Rock, a striking eleva- 
tion of the same type, far to the east. 

It was my immediate conclusion, and one that would be 
promptly formed by any other superficial observer, that 
this shell-bearing stratum had some time been the bed of a 
prehistoric body of water, which existed there previous 
to the upheaval of all that territory, covering all of what 
is now known as the Bad Lands. I observed also that the 
level strata in the distant bluffs were each a duplicate of 
the strata in all the others. It suggested at once the age 
when they were continuous, and the fact that I was now 
standing, not on a mountain summit, but on what was 
once the common level of that country. Surely the con- 
tinuous action of the elements, beginning perhaps with 
the wearing out of the gullies near the river, had worn 
back into the high plain and gradually widened out in all 
directions until nothing remained of the original level. 



THE MYSTERY OF SCOTT'S BLUFFS 159 

except these few high elevations. Scott's Bluff, Chimney 
Rock, Castle Rock, and other notable peaks alone remain 
to tell their tale of the ages that have passed since this 
work of erosion began. This, however, is but part of the 
story discovered in the descent. 

The perpendicular faces of the bluff present three or 
four varieties of clay formation, slight differences in color 
and texture being noticeable. One series of strata, called 
Mortar beds in Darton's geological reports, is called the 
Ogalalla formation, the strata being merged into a light 
colored, sandy clay. Beneath this is a formation suffi- 
ciently lithyfied to be fairly classed as soft sandstone, and 
beneath it all, as late examination shows, the Pierre clay, 
now supposed to be at least 2,000 feet in thickness at this 
point. 

Here also is seen at a glance one of the great sources of 
the enormous volume of sediment continually borne along 
in the waters of the Platte and down the great Missouri 
River, which have transported many cubic miles of earth 
and have deposited it to form the alluvial lands now 
forming the great states along the waters of the lower 
Mississippi. The suggestion seems overpowering, but true 
it is, that by these slow processes extending through ages, 
immeasurable even by the most learned geologist, the 
surface of this part of our continent has been transformed 
without limit. 

I had carefully inspected the surfaces of the bluffs and 
the interesting panorama that surrounded them; the next 
problem was to descend. This would have been simple 
enough if I had been content to retrace my steps and 
return by the ravine I had followed in ascending, but I 
had crossed to the southern rim of the summit, and I 
desired to explore that side of the eminence. On the 



160 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

southwest corner, however, there appeared to be a dry 
run which from my point of observation seemed to afford 
a safe and comparatively unbroken descent to the foot 
of the cHffs on that side. Although the view looking down 
this newly discovered ravine was not so comprehensive in 
all its details as would have been obtained below at a 
distance, I nevertheless determined to risk it. 

Following it down for a hundred feet or more I encoun- 
tered a terrace with the usual perpendicular face, but not 
intersected by the ravine along which I was descending. 
As the footing seemed to be good further along, I dropped 
myself over the edge of the terrace and comfortably 
alighted upon the level gallery that was next beneath. 
These narrow and level galleries surmounted each of the 
many upright-faced terraces, the latter varying somewhat 
in height. This mode of descent seemed fairly easy, and 
was indeed exhilarating. The process was repeated three 
or four times as other terraces were encountered, until I 
found myself upon a level gallery twelve to eighteen feet 
in width and possibly a hundred feet long. 

Walking the length of this gallery back and forth, I 
found no point where below it there was not a sheer, 
perpendicular precipice of more than a hundred feet in 
height. At each of its ends the gallery narrowed to a 
point against the cliff which extended far down beneath. 
Nature had here failed to carry out the general architec- 
tural plan of the bluff's structure. I felt earnestly that the 
terraces should have been constructed with more rigid 
uniformity. The discovery was now made that the branch 
ravine which my eyes had been following bore off in its 
upward course round this cliff and was lower than I had 
supposed. 

To return was impossible, for the smooth cliffs down 



THE MYSTERY OF SCOTT'S BLUFFS 161 

which I had dropped, being absolutely vertical, afforded 
no better footing than would the side of a perpendicular 
brick wall. I was on the opposite side of the bluffs from 
the road which our train had followed, and miles from it. 
The last glimpse of our wagons showed them moving far 
away in the distance to the westward. A shot from my 
revolver would not be heard a tenth of the distance. 
Even though I should be searched for, it would be prac- 
tically impossible for friends to follow my tortuous course 
down those cliffs over which probably no idiot before had 
dropt himself, and I should not be hunted until missed at 
night, for we often left the train for long side trips. The 
bluffs had already been named from one starving unfortu- 
nate, but I had no desire to add my own name to its history. 
As I walked back and forth along that gallery, looking 
upward and downward for some line of escape, the prospect 
was not cheerful. I suddenly became both hungry and 
thirsty. 

A long, dry, cedar log lay upon the hard floor of the 
gallery, and I wearily sat upon it for a brief period of 
silent meditation. The broad landscape to the south 
stood out clear and beautiful in the sunlight, and far be- 
neath, at the foot of the cliffs, the dark cedars in the shade 
were in mild contrast with the dull gray of the steep, 
clayey cliffs to which they clung on either side; but the 
landscape seemed at that time to have lost much of its 
interest, although it produced a lasting impression. The 
cedar log was a straight, slender, tapering shaft possibly 
fifty feet in length. It was hardly more than eight inches 
in diameter at its butt. Being without bark, it had 
doubtless rested there for many years, and was thoroughly 
dried out as was nearly everything else in that climate, 
which was arid the greater part of the year. Taking hold 



162 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

of one end of the log, and without any definite idea why 
I did it, I was surprised to discover how light it had be- 
come through seasoning. Either end of it could be lifted 
without great effort. 

At the western end of the gallery upon which I stood, 
and far below it, was the ravine, which from that point 
seemed to be continuous, and made a rapid descent to the 
foot of the mountain. It was comparatively narrow, and 
two or three tall cedars on its opposite side sprang out from 
a little ledge in the cliff. Some limbs in one of the cedars 
were hardly more than thirty or thirty-five feet distant 
from the wall of the rock upon which I stood, and on a 
lower level. A practical thought finally came into my 
mind. Carefully breaking from the log the stubs of 
limbs and twigs which remained upon it all of which were 
found to be very brittle, I planned to slide this log over 
the edge of the gallery, so that the smaller end, which 
happened to be in the right direction, would find a lodge- 
ment somewhere in the limbs of the live cedars across the 
ravine, leaving the larger end supported on the gallery, 
thereby constructing a bridge. 

I spent considerable time in calculating this problem, 
for I certainly believed that my life depended upon the 
success of the plan. I slowly moved the log along so that it 
projected beyond the gallery, and then carefully considered 
the proper direction for pushing it further. Laying aside 
revolver and field glass, I prepared for the one supreme 
effort. All the strength at my command was put behind 
the log as I balanced and then vigorously pushed it on- 
ward beyond the brink. Surveying the result, I was 
gratified after the first effort to discover that it had not 
fallen into the depths below and that the end had caught 
upon a small limb, which proved strong enough tempo- 



THE MYSTERY OF SCOTT'S BLUFFS 163 

rarily to support it. Another push and a careful turn of 
the log left its end apparently secure near the junction of 
a small limb and the main trunk of the tree near its top. 

The bridge, such as it was, being completed, I again 
strapped on my revolver, and taking the field glasses, sat 
astride the log and carefully crept along it to avoid any 
unnecessary jarring, my only doubt in accomplishing the 
task being in the strength of the old log and of the small 
limb which supported it. The distance beneath me had 
no more terrors than forty feet would naturally have, but 
when I laid my hands upon the slender trunk of the live 
cedar I breathed a sigh of relief. ''Shinning" down a 
tree was a simple matter, with which any youth would be 
familiar. After reaching the base of the tree I found 
other trees and shrubs that aided in the further descent, 
although there were a few other terraces or perpendicular 
cliffs twelve or fifteen feet in height over which I dropped 
with ease and safety. 

This course led me into a ravine, which, like nearly all 
such erosions in that country, had abrupt sides, averaging 
thirty or forty feet in depth, which I discovered later led 
to the Platte River, gradually increasing in width and 
depth as it descended. Some miles distant it was crossed 
by a bridge over which the traffic by that trail passed. 
Following the bottom of this ravine, or dry run, until I 
reached a point slightly outside the higher walls of the 
bluffs, I there came upon a huge pile of fossil bones. 
Skeletons, half exposed, projected from the steep sides of 
the deep run in great numbers. Many lay strewn upon 
the bottom of the ravines where they had been left strand- 
ed since the last rains in quantities enough to load many 
wagons. My knowledge of osteology was very limited, 
but it was sufficiently definite to enable me to determine 



164 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

that none of them were the bones of creatures like any 
with which I was then acquainted. It was a strange, weird 
sight. 

Being somewhat weary I dropped down in the shady 
side of the ravine to rest and gazed up and down at the 
mute records of the past which were scattered around me. 
It seemed as if the monsters whose bones lay there were 
suddenly reincarnated. A group of Titanotheria seemed 
to be assembled in a vast body; the Rhinoceros, Oreodon, 
and diminutive horse such as lived in those parts, were 
gathered around, each apparently ready to tell its tale of 
events which no man ever had heard before. A Titanothe- 
rium Robustum, smacking its huge jaws, turned its dull 
eyes upward to the summit of the great bluff 700 feet 
above where I was resting, and then turning its gaze 
toward me, said, *'What are you.^^ You are the first 
specimen of your genus that has ever passed this way. 
How old are you?" "A score or two of years," I replied. 
There was a roar of grunts doubtless intended for laughter 
which echoed up and down the ravine, and the pachyderm 
looked at the oreodon and smiled. Continuing, the Ti- 
tanotherium said, "Do you see the top of that lofty bluff? " 
I nodded yes. "Well, that is young, and it is not more 
than three or four decillion years since this country was 
pushed up and has been washing down the river. Before 
that, it was under water for nearly as long a period, be- 
cause it was mighty slow work filling in all that 1,500 
perpendicular feet of clay out of which all the layers of 
these bluffs are made. " 

The Rhinoceros then grunted out his reminiscences, to 
the effect that all that occurred long after his day, because 
he was doing business before the beginning of that vast 
cycle when the country was so deep under water, and 



THE MYSTERY OF SCOTT'S BLUFFS 165 

before these deposits were made. Continuing, he added, 
"Away back in those times a very bad spell of wet weather 
and floods occurred, when we all were caught and stuck 
in this swamp which finally dried up on all this great 
crowd of companions of a bygone age. Since we were 
washed out by the last winter and spring rains which 
swept down this gully we have seen nothing, and you are 
the first two-legged creature we ever saw, except a few 
dinosaurs, and but very few of them lived in these parts. " 
After this dreamy colloquy I woke up from my little 
rest, and the shadows of the prehistoric pachyderms 
vanished, but the thousands of bones were still protruding 
from the walls of the deep ravine. 

"The waters stood upon the mountains; 

At Thy rebuke they fled; 

He uncovereth deep things out of darkness, 

And bringeth out to light the shadow^ of death. " 

I picked up a massive femur, and put it upon my shoul- 
der to show to the boys as a trophy, but it soon became 
too heavy, and I dropped it behind me, perhaps to be 
moved along a little further toward the Platte River by 
the next spring flood. In time it doubtless found another 
resting place in those soft river sands, possibly to be 
exhumed in some future geological period, to lead the 
finder into some wild chain of reasoning concerning its 
history. I reached the train, which was camped six miles 
west, and told my story to the boys, and after supper fell 
asleep. 

The year after the discovery of the Grand Canyon of the 
Colorado, it was my pleasure personally to furnish Pro- 
fessor Powell with a careful description of the location of 
these remarkable deposits of fossils in Scott's Bluffs, which 



166 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

he and others investigated later. At that time I believe 
no investigation of those fossil beds had been made by 
scholars qualified to classify them. 

Amid all the intricacies of the ravines that run down 
the bluff sides, it would be difficult to indicate any loca- 
tions there with exactness, but certain landmarks make 
this one to which I now refer comparatively easy to 
describe. A professor and students from one of our 
universities made later investigations of this particular 
deposit on information given as to its nature. The recent 
marvelous agricultural development of this country as the 
result of an irrigating ditch cut near these bluffs is a 
revelation to those who first saw it as a barren area, a part 
of what was well named the Bad Lands. These once 
barren clay lands near the foot of Scott's Bluffs are now, 
strange to relate, highly productive. If any one of the 
young ranchers now engaged in the development of that 
country would care to follow the ravine crossed by the 
bridge over the old trail and with a ladder would ascend 
a few cliffs that will be encountered as he proceeds along 
the ravine, and then climb up until he reaches the high 
precipice, he will find the old cedar log still lying across 
the chasm and resting on the tree top, for no one would 
have made the effort to remove it, and nothing decays in 
that pure air. 



CHAPTER XIV 
The Peace Pipe at Laramie 

LEAVING the fossil beds, a six-mile tramp was 
made to a point beyond Fort Mitchell, where 
the train was reached. The course lay across a 
dry clay land which, though in appearance 
hopelessly sterile, was dotted with small clumps of sage 
brush, that ubiquitous bush which grows almost every- 
where in those western alkaline soils both on the plains 
and on the mountain slopes. Useless as that gnarly, 
stubby, stunted shrub may seem to be, it has been the 
salvation of thousands of travelers for whom it furnished 
the exclusive fuel along hundreds of miles of their pilgrim- 
age. The scant foliage of this species of Artemisia has a 
color, taste, and odor similar to that of the ordinary sage, 
and all of these qualities especially the flavor, were im- 
parted in some degree to the sage hens, which fed in 
numbers upon the plant. 

At Fort Mitchell there was stationed a company of 
soldiers to impress upon the Indians the idea that the 
strong military arm of the U. S. Government extended 
over the West, As we learned later, three score soldiers 
were but a feeble menace to the thousands of dissatisfied 
warriors, who were then roaming over the plains, awaiting 
some assurance from our authorities that the last of their 

167 



168 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

ancient hunting grounds would not be invaded and trav- 
ersed by the whites. 

Eight miles further on we camped for the night on the 
banks of the North Platte River, where, finding clear 
water and good forage for stock, we planned a day of rest. 
Near that point first loomed upon our view in the west 
the dark summits of Laramie Peak and the serrated line of 
jagged pinnacles in the less prominent range beyond. No 
snow was visible upon them, and the somber mountain 
pines presented but little contrast to the shadowy gorges, 
while the peaks like "splinters of the mountain chain 
stood black against the sky. " 

Crossing Horse-Shoe Creek, our trail led us at once into 
what was then Dakota Territory, but which in 1868 
became Wyoming Territory, and in July, 1890, the State 
of Wyoming. This state has now become renowned as a 
grand museum of Nature's wonders, and possibly presents 
the most numerous and remarkable varieties of interest- 
ing scenery and freaks of Nature, known to exist 
anywhere. 

Its lofty mountain chains and matchless canyons; its 
spectacular geysers and fountains of unending diversity 
in quality, and every degree of temperature from boiling 
springs to those which are said to produce ice by chemical 
processes; its beautiful mountain lakes and magnificent 
cataracts, all combine to make it a land of marvels. All 
these forms of Nature's works I have seen in camp life in 
Wyoming. 

Possibly because of its location and the abundance of 
its game, it became the final stronghold of the Indians. 
Its entire white population, at the time of my first visit, 
was probably exceeded by thousands of western villages, 
and but a small percentage of the number were women. 



THE PEACE PIPE AT LARAMIE 169 

There were enough of the latter, however, to secure the 
adoption of woman's suffrage by the first legislative 
assembly of the state, and social conditions then gave rise 
to the oft-repeated couplet, 

"Baby, baby, don't get in a fury, 
Your mamma's gone to sit on the jury. " 

As indicating that the spirit of woman's freedom was 
in the very atmosphere of that country long before her 
rights were established by legislative enactment, I state 
it as a fact that our first camp in that territory was made 
near a pool of alkaline water, in which each member of 
our party personally and simultaneously laundered his 
flannels and silk handkerchiefs, a purification that was 
greatly needed. 

It was an inspiring if not '*a sublime sight, " to see eight 
stalwart men diligently scrub their garments in the margin 
of the pool, and hang them to dry upon the stiff branches 
of the sage bushes in that bright, pure sunlight. The pool 
proved to be the home of insect life, for the early evening 
brought myriads of "fair insects . . . with thread- 
like legs spread out, and blood-extracting bill and filmy 
wing," which tortured us until the morning dawned, 
w hen we decided to move onward, and fly possibly to other 
evils that we knew not of. 

As we moved further westward, the scenery became 
more attractive and many objects of interest invited our 
attention. Among these was an apparently newly-made 
grave in the shade of two small and lonely trees. The 
earthly journey of some unfortunate traveler had been 
ended before it was really completed. Such a discovery 
will cause even the most careless wayfarer to pause and 
think at least for a moment on the great problems of life 



170 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

and death, and otherwise ponder much more than he would 
among a thousand graves in a potter's field. I soon 
noticed a card high up in the trunk of one of the trees and 
fastened to it by a rusty horseshoe nail. I immediately 
called some of the boys to see it. Upon the uncolored 
face of the card was printed a black figure somewhat 
Egyptian in outline. One after another of our party upon 
inspection failed to understand the significance or relevancy 
of the cabalistic design. Pete from a distance at once 
declared that it was a Jack of Spades, which in fact it was, 
but others were deciphering a somewhat faded epitaph 
written upon the margin with a lead pencil, which finally 
read as follows: 

"He played his last trump and lost." 

What could have been the meaning of this occult sen- 
tence.'^ I think it was a soldier who informed us that a 
man had been killed there in a fight, and that was all the 
soldier knew of the matter, except that the man had been 
appropriately epitaphed. There was no coroner or court 
of justice in those parts, and every man in that country 
seemed to be a law unto himself. The period of the 
Vigilantes was hardly yet in its bloom in Wyoming, but 
it is interesting to hear described the manner in which 
justice was summarily administered by a self-appointed 
tribunal, which also assumed the functions of executioner. 
There was little complaint of the law's delays in Wyoming, 
and the defendant did not suffer the embarrassment of 
being conducted through a gaping throng to a lofty gallows. 
The nearest tree served the purpose. There would be no 
time to issue tickets, and the charge was more likely to be 
horse stealing than any other crime. Still, it was true 
that deadly encounters were often the result of quarrels 



THE PEACE PIPE AT LARAMIE 171 

over unimportant matters. It seems difficult to pass 
judgment upon the acts of vigorous men who, having but 
Httle self-restraint, are freed from the restraints of law. 
Behind the bravado and the readiness to pull a gun on the 
slightest provocation, there were often noble and generous 
impulses which, when these men were merged into a 
settled community, led many of them to become strong, 
law-abiding citizens. 

A few years later than the occurrence just narrated, I 
chanced to spend a few days in Silverton, Colorado, when 
that town was in the first flush of its mining successes. As 
I was walking along the street one Sabbath afternoon with 
an old boyhood friend, Judge Montague, we passed a large 
and very busy gambling saloon. Its entire one-story front 
was wide open to the street. Scores of men were at the 
tables playing cards, and the long bar near the front was 
crowded with patrons. The Judge, calling me as usual 
by my old nickname, said, "I will tell you a story of this 
saloon," and he proceeded as follows: 

"A short time ago a home missionary. Rev. Mr. P — , 
came to Silverton, and having learned that I had been a 
church attendant in the East, he called upon me, and 
asked if I would give him some assistance that would aid 
him in the establishment of a church in this mining town. " 
Having explained the character of the community, the 
Judge said to the missionary, "If you will go where I shall 
take you, I will see what can be done. " There was then 
no house of worship in Silverton. The missionary prompt- 
ly assented. "Then, " continued the Judge, "I led him at 
once into this gambling house and up to the bar. Calling 
for the proprietor, I introduced the missionary and said, 
*You know we have no church in Silverton and Rev. P — 
desires to help us raise some money to apply toward the 



172 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

building of one.' *No church in Silverton?' shouted the 
saloon proprietor, with apparent disgust. 'No,' I replied, 
*not one!' Then with a series of oaths, vigorously em- 
phasized by a blow of his fist upon the bar, which made the 
minister tremble, he declared that it was a d — d shame and 
showed a lack of enterprise. He added, 'If we are ever 
going to have a first-class town we've got to have every- 
thing that's a-going. Ye want something out of me.^^' 
'Yes,' I replied, 'we should be pleased to have you head 
the subscription list, and I thought that about two hundred 
dollars would be about right for your place.' The young 
missionary gulped and held his breath. 'All right,' said 
the proprietor, as he inscribed his name on the paper, 
'we've got to have everything that's a-goin' if we have any 
kind of a town. Now what'U you have with me, gentle- 
men.^' as he firmly slammed upon the counter two or three 
bottles, 'and, by the way, I've got a little good, old whiskey 
here made before the war, that I keep back for my friends.' " 
In following up the history of the little Congregational 
Church, the genesis of which was in the heart of a mission- 
ary, at the bar of a gambler, it may be of interest to relate 
an incident that seems quite grotesque and further illus- 
trates the strange blending of extremes in the characters 
of the West. A young minister, H. P. Roberts, was sent 
later to the same Silverton work, and pending the construc- 
tion of a new church, services were held in a schoolhouse. 
On the last Christmas previous to the transfer to the new 
edifice, some exercises were being held for the children. 
Late in the evening there was sent to the schoolhouse and 
hung upon the Christmas tree a woman's stocking sent as 
a gift to the young minister by one Jim Brown, another 
notorious saloon-keeper. On delivering to the minister 
the article of wearing apparel, for which he apparently had 



THE PEACE PIPE AT LARAMIE 173 

no present need, it was found to contain a pack of cards, a 
box of dice, and, what was greatly needed, sixty silver 
dollars. It had been collected by Brown from members 
of his profession as his voluntary act and expression of 
good will. Brown was killed not long after by an old, 
one-armed marshal named Ward, who in turn soon met 
the same fate. This incident is fully verified by a recent 
letter from a pioneer woman who was a member of that 
church and was also a witness to the event at the school- 
house. The sixty dollars may have been tainted money 
(if it is possible to taint a well-inspired benefaction), but 
the act sheds a soft ray of light upon the life of a man 
whose career and character were generally regarded as 
dark. 

On the following day, after passing the grave by the 
two trees, we drove thirteen miles. As we were slowly 
moving along in the afternoon over the heavy sands and 
up a long but rather gentle slope, we suddenly observed 
two wagons with mule teams approaching from the west, 
the animals being driven at the top of their speed under 
the lash of the drivers. On discovering us, the drivers 
motioned in an agitated manner toward Fred and me who 
were riding on horseback, indicating that they wished us 
to halt. We accordingly stopped the train and awaited 
their arrival. They at once reported a large band of 
Indians approaching. Having seen the Indians in the 
distance, the drivers had quickly turned their teams, and 
were endeavoring to escape from possible trouble. We 
all deemed it prudent to remain near where we were, and 
await the arrival of the band which was reported to be 
following the trail. It soon began to appear over the 
crest of the hill and much to our satisfaction was evidently 
not a war party. It was an Indian village on horseback, 



174 THE AWAEENING OF THE DESERT 

consisting of several hundred Sioux with their families 
and the ordinary equipment of Indian lodges, which were 
being transported upon several hundred horses and ponies. 
There is ordinarily little to fear from such a body, as 
Indians are not inclined to make trouble when there is 
danger to their wives and papooses, although the average 
Indian squaw doubtless shared the passion of her chief in 
time of war and was accustomed to strife and bloodshed. 

In many of their battles, when the prospect of an 
Indian victory seems certain, the squaws and children are 
placed at some point of vantage, to witness the sport and 
the tortures. This was notably true in the attack of 
Roman Nose, with one thousand warriors, on Forsythe's 
little band on the so-called Island of Death in the Arrikaree 
River, in that year. The squaws took a safe position 
on the bluffs, as did the matrons in the days of Rome's 
glory, when they witnessed the brutal contests in the 
Coliseum. 

We had courteously driven out a short distance from 
the trail to give the Indians a free passage. Our horses 
seemed not pleased with the appearance of the strange 
cavalcade, for they reared and plunged in an effort to 
escape. Hitching our saddle horses to wagons, Ben, Fred 
and I stopped close to the trail, and each of us courteously 
and fearlessly as possible saluted one after another of this 
band as they passed, with the familiar word, "How." 
Not even a grunt or motion came in return for our saluta- 
tion. Their eyes were turned toward us as they passed, 
but, to use a society phrase, they cut us and turned us 
down. All appeared to be glum, sullen and disgruntled, 
and we were happy to see them move on at a steady pace. 

In this Indian train there was possibly material for a 
hundred lodges. The lodge poles were carried on the 



THE PEACE PIPE AT LARAMIE 175 

backs of ponies, an equal number on either side, the large 
end of the pole dragging far behind upon the ground. In 
many cases a little hammock-like affair, suspended be- 
tween the poles behind a pony, carried a papoose, whose 
unshaded face looked up toward the glaring sun. Other 
ponies were loaded wdth camp material of varied kinds, 
on top of which in some cases were squaws and children. 
All the men and nearly all the squaws were mounted. 
There was an excellent opportunity to observe the faces 
of all who passed, although there was little to be learned 
from their expressions concerning any of their emotions, 
for they were solemn and undemonstrative. It required 
a long time for all to pass, for they did not move in a 
compact body but were generally in single file, except 
that here and there some young warrior rode beside a 
tawny maiden. There was no hostile demonstration, nor 
did they pause a single moment on their onward march. 

On the following morning, while riding our horses over 
a slight elevation, we came in sight of the swollen current 
of the Laramie River, which rushed into view from around 
some highlands not far away at our left; its swiftly flowing 
waters plunged along before us and onward into those of 
the North Platte not more than a mile away at our right. 

The first view of the scene spread out before us across 
the river aroused our profound interest, chiefly because 
the consideration of some very grave questions had caused 
a large and unusual gathering of warriors to be assembled 
there, whose conclusions would result either in peace or 
savage, bloody war. Directly in front of us, and near the 
opposite bank of the stream, stood the historic old post, 
Fort Laramie. It consisted of the usual plaza, or parade 
ground, in the form of a parallelogram, equal in size to an 
average city block. On each of its four sides were build- 



176 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

ings, some of which were two stories in height, some of 
but one story. It could be clearly seen that of the twenty- 
five or thirty structures around the square, some were 
built of logs, others of adobe, and a few were framed. 

To the right of these, and wholly removed from the 
square, were seven or eight long and low buildings each of 
which we learned later, was used for one of the various 
trades of carpentry, blacksmithing, horseshoeing, etc., 
and for quartermasters' supplies. Seemingly not more 
than three-fourths of a mile beyond the river, a steep but 
smooth-surfaced bank rose rather abruptly several hun- 
dred feet from the river valley to what appeared to be a 
rough and rocky table-land. Toward our right and up 
the least abrupt and lowest part of the table-land, were 
clearly seen the lines of the Oregon trail leading on west- 
ward from Laramie over the hills to the Platte River 
Valley beyond. Somewhat to the left and towering far 
beyond and above the crest of the high, barren, and tree- 
less table-land, rose Laramie Peak. 

All these were then of interest simply as being the frame- 
work of the striking picture that lay in the foreground. 
Extending out to the further margin of the valley beyond 
the post, also to the right and the left of it on the plain 
was a city of Indian lodges, each of which stood out a 
white cone surmounted by its fringe of projecting lodge 
poles. The lodges appeared to be centered into groups 
or villages. Parties of Indians, a few only mounted, could 
be seen in many of the open places. 

A flagstaff from which floated our national colors rose 
from near a corner of the rectangle which indicated the 
local seat of authority and the quarters for the regimental 
band. 

The river, which was between us and the Fort, was 



THE PEACE PIPE AT LARAMIE 177 

swollen by a flood. It seemed important, however, that 
we should visit the post and learn as much as possible 
concerning the pending negotiations with the tribes. 
Ben, Fred, Pete, and I, therefore, decided to swim the 
river on horses. The current was exceedingly swift and 
deep, but though it carried us down stream a long distance, 
we reached the western bank without serious diflSculty. 
We then wondered how our train would cross. On reach- 
ing the post we at once entered the quadrangle and for a 
few moments watched the movements which were passing 
before us in that place, which from the beginning of its 
history had been the most important center for inter- 
course between the Indians and whites that existed in 
our country. It was first established in 1834 by Mr. 
Robert Campbell, a successful fur trader and merchant, 
whom I have often seen; and as stated by Larpenteur, the 
river and the post were named in memory of Joaques La 
Ramie, a French trapper said to have been killed on that 
stream by the Arapahoes. 

The post was purchased in 1849 by the U. S. Govern- 
ment and materially remodeled then, as it has also been 
since. There was no real fortification to be found at Fort 
Laramie. A few soldiers were on parade and others were 
visible around the barracks. We immediately went to 
headquarters and held interviews with various officials. 
We were informed that more than 7,000 Indians, consist- 
ing of bands of Ogallala and Minnecongoux Sioux, also 
Cheyennes and Arapahoes, and a few Mountain Crows 
who were interested in the question at issue, had assembled 
to participate in the proposed treaty. The officers in- 
formed us that the main object to be sought by the Govern- 
ment was the opening of the new route from Fort Laramie 
to Montana via the head waters of Powder and Big Horn 



178 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

Rivers. The Indians objected to any travel through that 
country, which was their most valuable hunting ground. 

We also learned with pleasure that there was a bridge 
further down the stream, of which we had not known. 
We re-crossed the river by swimming our horses. Hitch- 
ing our teams, we drove to the bridge and after paying 
three dollars toll for each wagon, crossed upon it and 
camped on the Platte River bottoms, near the junction 
of the Laramie and North Platte. The day had been 
intensely hot, the mercury at the post registering 98 de- 
grees. 

Although we had not learned how soon we should be 
permitted to proceed on our journey, it seemed proper 
that we should further investigate the progress of affairs 
and ascertain what was the prospect for peace. W^e, 
therefore, again entered the reservation and now inter- 
viewed Mr. Seth Ward, who was said to be the best in- 
formed man concerning those matters to be found at Lara- 
mie. This idea seemed to be quite reasonable, because the 
military was supposed to be in a sense partisan. We 
modestly approached the pompous Mr. Ward, who w^e 
were told was the sutler. He wore fine clothes, and a 
soft, easy hat. A huge diamond glittered in his shirt 
front. He moved quietly round as if he were master of 
the situation, and with that peculiar air so often affected 
by men who are financially prosperous and self-satisfied. 
He seemed to be a good fellow and was in every respect 
courteous. He assured us that the Indians would be 
"handled all right" and that there need be no fear of 
further trouble. 

As a business proposition, it was manifestly to the 
advantage of the sutler and agents that some treaty be 
made, for the reason that every Indian treaty involves 



THE PEACE PIPE AT LARAMIE 179 

the giving of many presents and other valuable considera- 
tions. Whatever the Indians may finally receive become 
articles of exchange in trade. In this the astute sutler 
profits largely, as the Indian has little knowledge of the 
intrinsic value of manufactured goods and the sutler en- 
joyed exclusive rights of traffic with them at the posts. 
On the other hand, the soldiers and many others expressed 
the opinion that no satisfactory agreement would be 
reached. The demand of the Government as declared 
to the writer by Colonel, now General H. B. Carrington, 
was that it should have the right to establish one or more 
military posts on that road in the country in question. 
All the Indians occupying that territory were refusing to 
accept the terms, saying that it was asking too much of 
their people, in fact it was asking all they had, and it would 
drive away their game. 

While these negotiations were going on with Red Cloud 
and the leading chiefs, to induce them to yield to the 
Government the right to establish the military posts, 
Colonel Carrington arrived at Laramie with about 700 
officers and men of the 18th U. S. Infantry. Carrington 
was then already en route to the Powder River country, to 
build and occupy the proposed military posts along the 
Montana road, pursuant to orders from headquarters of 
the Department of the Missouri, Major General Pope 
commanding. 

The destination and purpose of Colonel Carrington were 
communicated to the chiefs, who recognized this action on 
the part of the Government as a determination on its part 
to occupy the territory regardless of any agreement. 
Red Cloud and his followers spurned the offers which 
were made for their birthright and indignantly left the 
reservation to defend their hunting grounds, and as we 



180 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

then believed and learned later, went immediately on the 
war path. As stated in the Government reports, they 
"at once commenced a relentless war against all whites, 
both citizens and soldiers." The great Chief, Red Cloud, 
and his followers were now no longer a party to the negotia- 
tions, but thousands of other warriors and chiefs were 
induced to remain. 

We later strolled out among the buffalo skin lodges and 
among the many warriors who were grouped here and 
there on the level land around the post. The faces of the 
older Red Men, who still remained, clearly indicated 
dissatisfaction and defiance. 

"And they stood there on the meadow 
With their weapons and their war gear 
Painted like the leaves of autumn, 
Painted like the sky of morning. 
Wildly glaring at each other; 
In their faces stern defiance, 
In their hearts the feud of ages, 
The hereditary hatred. 
The ancestral thirst of vengeance." 

It appeared finally that in the determination to make 
some kind of treaty the commissioner brought into council 
a large number of chiefs, but as the information came to us, 
they were from bands that did not occupy any part of the 
country along the route in question. Some of these had 
resided near Fort Laramie ; others, the Brule Sioux, occu- 
pied the White Earth River valley; and still others were 
from along the tributaries of the Kansas River. These 
bands having no immediate interest in the hunting grounds 
to the north, were induced to become parties to a treaty. 
The proceedings so far as concerns the representatives of 



THE PEACE PIPE AT LARAMIE 181 

the Government, seem to have been undignified and 
unworthy of a great nation. The conclusion of a treaty 
of peace with these bands, who could not represent the 
Northern tribes, seemed a farce. The military arm of the 
Government was in no sense a party to the agreement, 
their function being solely to protect the whites to the 
best of their ability. The force at the command of Colonel 
Carrington was wholly inadequate for this duty. Lar- 
penteur, who appears to have attended many Indian 
treaties, cites the Laramie treaty of 1851 as one of many 
in which speculation became the motive for its consumma- 
tion. The ostensible purpose of that treaty was to accom- 
plish a general peace between all the tribes on the Missouri 
and Platte Rivers. For that purpose two or three chiefs 
of each tribe were invited to that treaty. The agents 
must have known well that the other bands could not be 
held responsible according to Indian usage when not 
represented. The fact is stated that the Indians on their 
return fought with each other before they reached their 
home, and these dissensions were promptly followed by 
renewed warfare against the whites. 

The treaty of 1866, at which we were present, such as 
it was, having been concluded by the chiefs of the 
thousand Indians who remained, the coveted presents 
were distributed. In a few hours more the friendly camps 
were ablaze with mounted Indians decked in yellow, red, 
and other brilliantly colored cheap fabrics flying in the 
winds. To their simple tastes these tawdry stuffs were 
more attractive than diamonds. Gilded jewelry was 
received by them in exchange for articles of real value. 
We were informed that they received firearms and ammuni- 
tion, which they greatly prize, but this statement is not 
made from my personal knowledge. 



182 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

On one afternoon we were present at what we understood 
was the council or peace gathering of the bands that had 
become parties to the treaty. It was apparently neces- 
sary that these bands should act somewhat in harmony, 
and an Indian ratification meeting was quite appropriate. 
The chiefs and head men, sixty or seventy in number, 
were seated upon buffalo skins spread upon the ground in 
a great circle, and behind them in groups stood leading 
warriors. Among these we were informed were Swift 
Bear, Spotted Tail, Big Mouth, Standing Elk, and Two 
Strikes. At the head of the line was a chief apparently 
much advanced in years, wearing a medal suspended by a 
leather cord around his neck; his name I am unable to 
give. The exposed side of the medal bore the insignia of 
two pipes crossed. During the solemn ceremony about 
to be performed it hardly seemed proper to scrutinize too 
closely these emblems of authority, but one of the boys 
stated he could read the words "James Madison" upon 
the medal. It was evidently a medal presented at some 
former treaty and upon it was inscribed the name of the 
"great father" at Washington. 

Treaties were made, according to Government reports, 
during the administration of Madison in 1816 with the 
Sioux of the Leaf, the Sioux of the Pine Tops, the Sioux 
of the River, and other tribes, and this aged chief was 
doubtless a party to one of these convocations. 

While all was silent at the Laramie ceremony that we 
witnessed, there was handed to this old chief, by a pipe- 
bearer, with some flourishes which we did not understand, 
the calumet, a beautiful redstone pipe having a long stem. 
It was already lighted. Slowly passing the peace pipe to 
his lips in a serious, dignified manner and with no expres- 
sion upon his face that could be interpreted, the old chief 



THE PEACE PIPE AT LARAMIE 183 

took from it two or three long drafts with marked inter- 
vals between them, and hardly turning his head passed 
it to the chief who sat at his right, who repeated the cere- 
mony. It was in this manner conveyed from one to 
another until the circle was completed. The participa- 
tion in this ceremony doubtless was understood as a pledge 
of amity between those engaged in it, and as a confirmation 
of a mutual agreement concerning the matters before 
them. 

It is a fact quite generally recognized by observers of 
the Indians that there is no custom more universal or 
more highly valued by the Indian than that of smoking. 
The pipe is his companion in council ; through it he pledges 
his friends; and with his tomahawk it has its place by him 
in his grave as his companion in the happy hunting grounds 
beyond. It is, therefore, not strange that the pipe should 
be a type of their best handiwork. As stated by Catlin, 
the red pipe-stone from which all existing specimens of 
Indian pipes appear to have been made, was obtained 
from the Pipestone quarry in Minnesota on the dividing 
ridge between the St. Peters and Missouri Rivers. It was 
named Catlinite on account of its discovery by George 
Catlin, the eminent writer and artist, who made it the 
object of protracted research. Until recent years the 
quarries have been held as sacred and as neutral ground 
by the various tribes. It was there, according to Indian 
tradition, fully described in early records, that the Great 
Spirit called the Indian nations together and standing upon 
a precipice of the red pipe rock broke from its wall a piece 
from which he made a huge pipe. The spirit told them 
that they must use this rock for their pipes of peace, that 
it belonged to them all and that the war club must never 
be lifted on its ground. At the last whiff of his pipe the 



184 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

head of the spirit went into a great cloud, and the whole 
surface of the rock in a radius of several miles was melted 
and glazed. The legend, with others which, according 
to early records, have been treasured by the Indians, was 
taken by Longfellow to form the first picture in his Hia- 
watha, 

Silliman's Journal of Science (Vol. XXXVII, page 394,) 
gives an analysis of Red Pipestone. It is pronounced to 
be a mineral compound (and not steatite), is harder than 
gypsum, and softer than carbonate of lime. Specimens 
bear as high a luster and polish as melted glass. 

It may be of interest to the reader to know more of the 
ends sought by these treaties, also more concerning the 
contracting parties. In separate treaties, all of the same 
tenor and made in October, 1865, with various tribes of 
Sioux, those Indians promised to be very good and to 
maintain peaceful relations with the whites. In considera- 
tion therefor the U. S. Government promised to pay to 
each family or lodge the sum of $25.00, payable annually 
for a stated period, also to distribute to the widow and 
the seventeen children of Ish-tah-cha-ne-aha the sum of 
five hundred dollars, said friendly chief having been slain 
by U. S. soldiers. 

To one of these instruments were affixed the signatures 
of the following eminent warriors, whose names are given 
in the form in which they appeared on one of the docu- 
ments, — the translation also being written as shown. 



Cha-tan-ska, 


The White Chief, 


His Mark 


E-to-kee-ah 


The Hump, 


His Mark 


Shon-ta-kee-desh-kar, 


The Spotted Bear Chief, 


His Mark 


Mah-to-to-pah, 


The Four Bears, 


His Mark 


Chan-tay-o-me-ne-ome-me, 


The Whirling Heart, 


His Mark 


Mah-to.a-chachah, 


The Bear that is Like Him, 


His Mark 


Taa-hoo-ka-zah-nom-put, 


The Two Lances, 


His Mark 




H 

05 
O 

Uh 

H 
< 

H 
Oi 

<: 
a 

< 

o 
o 

Q 
O 



THE PEACE PIPE AT LARAMIE 18S 

There were also attached fourteen other names with the 
signatures of the Commissioners of the United States 

In April and May, 1868, treaties were finally concluded 
at Fort Laramie with the Brule, Ogallala, and other Sioux 
also the Arapahoes and Crows, and were signed by scores 
ot their chiefs and head men; General W. T. Sherman, also 
Generals Harvey, Terry, and Auger acting on behalf of the 
U. b. Government. 



CHAPTER XV 

Red Cloud on the War Path 

THE statement that a satisfactory treaty had 
been concluded with the Indians was communi- 
cated to the various parties of travelers who were 
camped near the post. There being a sufficient 
number of armed men and wagons to cdnform to the rules 
of the War Department, ready to proceed westward, we 
were ordered to move on. 

But where was the great chief, Red Cloud, and his 
savage warriors who, enraged because of the precipitate 
advance of the U. S. troops into the very territory that 
was under consideration at the council, had struck out 
westward with the avowed purpose of defending it against 
all comers.^ What were the experiences of the hundreds 
of men, women, and soldiers who in that fateful season 
were traversing those Wyoming trails.^ 

A recital of incidents that occurred during the treaty, 
if not followed by some reference to succeeding events 
would, figuratively speaking, leave the reader high in the 
air. On examining the letters and messages of the Presi- 
dents, I find revealed therein the astonishing fact that 
even our chief executive was long in ignorance of the true 
situation of Indian affairs in Wyoming. It would, there- 
fore, not be strange if readers generally were also unin- 

186 



RED CLOUD ON THE WAR PATH 187 

formed upon the subject. In his Annual Message, dated 
December 3, 1866, President Johnson, referring to this 
Laramie treaty, informs Congress that a treaty had been 
concluded with the Indians, "who," (as the message 
states) "enticed into armed opposition to our Government 
at the outbreak of the Rebellion, have unconditionally 
submitted to our authority, and manifested an earnest 
desire for a renewal of friendly relations." For the whole 
period of nearly five months prior to the date of the mes- 
sage above cited the Indian war was going on; and within 
three days of the date of the message there occurred in 
Wyoming, under Red Cloud, one of the most appalling 
Indian massacres that has darkened the history of our 
country. 

In his message of the following year, the President was 
sufficiently advised to report "barbarous violence which, 
instigated by real or imaginary grievance, the Indians have 
committed upon emigrants and frontier settlements," 
but he makes no allusion to an entire detachment of our 
brave soldiers, every one of whom was slaughtered in one 
day. He urges that "the moral and intellectual im- 
provement of the Indians can be most effectually secured 
by concentrating them upon portions of the country set 
apart for their exclusive use, and located at points remote 
from our highways and encroaching white settlements." 

Could any proposition be made better calculated to 
fire the blood of a savage Chief, whose people had been 
driven year by year until thej^ had reached the last fast- 
ness? How large would be the "point" recommended in 
the message, upon which these migratory tribes should be 
settled .^^ Where was there remaining an unoccupied por- 
tion of our country that might not become a highway as 
quickly as has the remote territory then in controversy? 



188 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

Experience had taught the Red Men that none of their 
grounds, wherever they might be, were secure to them. 
Many of the Sioux, who had been slowly driven back upon 
other tribes with whom they had often been at war, appear 
to have shared a joint possession of the Powder River 
country, where game was abundant. The ** moral and 
intellectual advancement" recommended in the President's 
message probably did not concern them so much as did 
the question of food in the long ranters. 

While it is recognized that barbarism must give way to 
the march of civilization, it is humiliating to review the 
heartless disregard of the principles of equity and square 
dealing, of which some of the representatives of our nation 
have been guilty in our relations with these great tribes. 
The general situation as it existed during the few weeks 
following this treaty is tersely described in the report of a 
special commission chosen by the United States Senate to 
investigate the Fetterman massacre already referred to. 
The commission convened at Fort McPherson in April, 
1867, and after thirty days' investigation made its report, 
which concluded with the following summary: 

"We, therefore, report that all the Sioux Indians occu- 
pying the country about Fort Phil Kearney have been in 
a state of war against the whites since the 20th day of 
June, 1866, and that they have waged and carried on this 
war for the purpose of defending their ancient possessions 
from invasion and occupation by the whites. 

"The war has been carried on by the Indians with most 
extraordinary vigor and unwonted success. 

"During the time from July 26th, the day on which 
Lieutenant Wand's train was attacked, to the 21st of 
December, on which Lieutenant Colonel Fetterman with 
his command of eighty oflScers and men were overpowered 



RED CLOUD ON THE WAR PATH 189 

and massacred, they (the Indians) killed ninety-one en- 
listed men and five officers of our army, and killed fifty- 
eight citizens, and wounded twenty more, and captured 
and drove away three hundred and six oxen and cows, 
hree hundred and four mules, and one hundred and sixty- 
one horses. During this time they appeared in front of 
Fort Phil Kearney making hostile demonstrations and 
committing hostile acts fifty-one different times, and 
attacked nearly every train and person that attempted to 
pass over the Montana road." The figures in the fore- 
going report do not include the great loss of human life 
and of live stock and other property that occurred in con- 
nection with the massacre in December. 

It was early in this period that the scoundrels at Fort 
Laramie, who should have known better, assured us and 
other travelers less fortunate than we were, that it would 
be quite safe for emigrants to proceed. It may be asked 
what motive could inspire these roseate but unreliable 
reports. The answer is simple when one becomes some- 
what familiar with the type of many of the men who on 
the part of the Government conducted these highly im- 
portant negotiations; and when one realizes the additional 
fact that the opportunity for personal profit overshadowed 
everything, while the dignity of the Government and the 
principles of equity were disregarded. 

In the second volume of his Forty Years a Fur Trader, 
Larpenteur devotes an entire chapter to a sketch of the 
many Indian agents with whom he was familiar who 
served the Government as "the fathers of the Indians" 
during those many years. The majority of those whose 
names he gives are stated by him to be "drunken gamb- 
lers." "Some were interested in the fur trade" and 
therefore were using the great authority of the United 



190 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

States Government to further their personal ends. "Some 
were ignorant beaver trappers," but not one of them, 
according to Larpenteur's reports, seems to have possessed 
those quahfications which would make for "the moral and 
intellectual advancement" of the wards of the nation so 
prominently urged in the President's message. In fact, 
the Indian agent should be a man of probity instead of a 
man whom the Indians openly declared to be a liar, and 
certainly he should not influence an agreement for the 
profit of the post sutler, who has the exclusive trading 
privilege at the post. 

We were in the atmosphere of events and at every 
available opportunity conferred with officers, soldiers, and 
non-combatants, gleaning all possible information concern- 
ing passing incidents, and followed those observations with 
later investigations, so that we could not but believe that 
we became fairly well informed concerning the Indian his- 
tory of the few weeks following Red Cloud's withdrawal 
from Laramie. For much valuable information I am un- 
der obligations to General Carrington, who was then in 
command in Wyoming, and who has given me data not 
easily obtained from any other original and trustworthy 
source. A record of the many thrilling events that rapid- 
ly followed each other would fill a volume and is for the 
historian to compile. Coutant has well described them, 
but the final dramatic conflict that crushed the Indian 
uprising and opened the path for emigration demands 
a passing glance. 

As we were leaving Laramie, Lieutenant Daniels was 
riding a short distance in advance of a small body of sol- 
diers who were escorting the wife of Lieutenant Wand from 
Fort Laramie westward, when a band of the Sioux, in full 
view of the soldier escort, made a raid upon the Lieuten- 



RED CLOUD ON THE WAR PATH 191 

ant, capturing and horribly torturing him until he died. 
Then, putting on the clothing of the dead man, the savages 
danced and yelled while out of range on the prairie, for the 
evident purpose of being seen by the members of the 
escorting party : and thus the war began. 

After other similar attacks there followed the massacre 
of Colonel Fetterman and his men, in which not a white 
soldier was left to tell the tale; it is known as the "tragedy 
of Fort Phil Kearney," the full official report of which is 
written in Absaraka. 

And now Red Cloud had certainly become a great chief. 
He had gathered in additional bands, and it is claimed that 
one-half of the 3000 warriors under his command w^ere soon 
armed with rifles, many of them being Spencer carbines 
that would carry seven cartridges. A few of them were 
the new Henry rifles, some of which had been captured in 
the recent massacre; but manj^ of their rifles of the pattern 
used by our soldiers in the war just ended and up to that 
time by most of the soldiers of the frontier, were said to 
have been obtained from sutlers and traders. In the mean- 
time the thrilling tidings of the Fetterman massacre, and of 
other serious reverses reached Washington. New, im- 
proved, breech-loading rifles, and ammunition, were for- 
warded and received none too soon. 

Captain James Powell, with a company of infantry, was 
finally detailed to guard the contractors in the transporta- 
tion of wood to Fort Phil Kearney. Powell had been brev- 
etted for gallantry in the Civil War and had been engaged 
in a number of recent encounters with Indians. The same 
day on which an attack was made on Fort C. F. Smith, an 
attempt was made by the Indians under Red Cloud to wipe 
out the detail that was guarding the wood train. This 
detail consisted of twelve men who were to guard the 



192 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

camp where the timber was being cut, and thirteen men 
who were to accompany the men to and from the fort. 
The wagons on which the timber was being transported 
consisted simply of the running gear of the wagons, the big 
boxes of the Government pattern having been removed; 
and to make them a means of defense they had been ar- 
ranged as a corral, with entrances at both ends of a diam- 
eter of the circle. In front of each opening a complete 
wagon was placed. These Government wagon boxes were 
deep, and within them on the exposed side were piled their 
supplies, consisting of sacks of grain and anything else that 
would help to stop a bullet. This corral was the base of 
defense when they were away from the Fort. 

The camp was at once burned by the Indians, and the 
wood train was attacked. The savages then immediately 
turned upon the little band now concentrated in the corral. 
The report shows that there were there 32 men, including 
four civilians, to defend themselves and the wagon boxes; 
and surrounding them were 3,000 warriors. 

While the Indians had taken time to destroy the camp 
and run off the stock, Powell had distributed his few men 
among the wagons. Openings had already been cut in the 
boxes for their rifles, and fortunately they had guns in 
abundance. Some of the men who were not good shots 
loaded the rifles for those who were more expert. It is in- 
teresting at this point to see brought into action one of the 
type of men such as we occasionally met in the West. He 
was an old mountaineer who had fortunately joined the 
defending party. He had been in many Indian fights, 
and was known to be a crack shot and dead sure of his 
mark. Eight rifles were placed at his side, and a less 
skilled man was assigned to keep them loaded. These has- 
tily executed arrangements were perfected before the mul- 



RED CLOUD ON THE WAR PATH 193 

titude of Indians had completed their work of destruction 
at the camp, and had secured the stock. The wagon box 
corral was apparently a simple proposition for the Indians, 
and its captiu'e was evidently to be made the event of the 
day, to conclude with the usual massacre. This contem- 
plated exploit appeared to be so simple that they brought 
with them their women and children to witness from 
a favorable view-point the extermination of the little band, 
and to assist in carrying away the booty. 

Powell had given his final instructions to the men in the 
wagon boxes when a detachment of mounted warriors, 
armed with rifles and carbines, made the first charge. As 
prearranged, not a shot was fired from the corral until the 
savages were about fifty yards distant. At that point 
Powell spoke the word '* Fire " and in an instant there came 
a volley from the enclosure which was continued with re- 
peating rifles without cessation, and in a manner which 
evidently astonished the savages. Although the Indians 
poured into the wagons a shower of bullets, their rush was 
checked. With savage determination they circled the en- 
closure to seek some unguarded spot for attack, but finally 
withdrew. It was then found that one lieutenant and a 
private soldier had been killed, and two men were seriously 
wounded, but hundreds of dead Indians and horses sur- 
rounded the corral. The Indian tactics were then changed. 

Red Cloud in his next attack sent about 700 warriors 
armed with rifles, backed up by others with bows and ar- 
rows. This great skirmishing party, unmounted, were 
stripped of every article of clothing; upon their hands and 
knees they approached the corral from every direction. 
This detachment was supported by 2,000 warriors. The 
description of this charge, as given to Greneral Carrington, 
mdicates that it was made with intense desperation. 



194 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

Again, as before, the corral was silent until the appointed 
moment, when a sheet of flame opened from the little band 
of defenders and the well-directed fire did not cease until 
the baffled savages withdrew, leaving hundreds of dead 
upon the field. Most of the fighting was at close range. 
During these attacks the old frontiersman sat apparently 
unconcerned, discharging one after another the loaded re- 
peating rifles which were always ready, and with unerring 
aim; each bullet meant one more dead or wounded Indian. 
The savages did not realize that one old man was pumping 
lead mth such rapidity and unfailing accuracy, but they 
did discover that something had "broke loose." 

I have heard the story of an interesting conversation be- 
tween this old frontiersman and the Department com- 
mander. It is now told by Cyrus Townsend Brady, as fol- 
lows: 

*"How many Indians were in the attack?' asked the 
General of the old man. 'Wafl, Gen'riU, I can't say for 
sartin, but I think thar war nigh 3000 or more.' *How 
many were killed and wounded?' 'Wall, Gen'rill, I can't 
say for sartin, but I think thar war nigh onto a thousand of 
'em hit.' 'How many did you kill?' 'Wall, Gen'rill, 
I can't say, but gi'e me a dead rest and I kin hit a dollar at 
50 yards every time, and I fired with a dead rest at more'n 
fifty of those varmints inside of 50 yards. ' ' For Heaven's 
sake, how many times did you fire?' exclaimed the as- 
tonished General. 'Wall, Gen'rill, I can't say exactly, 
but I kept eight guns pretty well het up for more'n three 
hours.' 

The official report gave the loss in killed and wounded 
by the Indians as 1137, or 36 Indians to each defender. In 
July, 1908, the old chief. Red Cloud, at the age of ninety 
years, met with General Carrington, and a few other sur- 



RED CLOUD ON THE WAR PATH 195 

vivors of the Wyoming command of 1866, upon those 
bloody Wyoming battlefields to review the scene of those 
conflicts. 

As stated in the St. Louis Globe Democrat and also by 
General Carrington, who again met Red Cloud on the bat- 
tlefield in 1909, the old chief then admitted a loss of 1500 
braves — and that was the result of the wagon box fight, 
possibly the most thrilling and disastrous Indian defeat of 
which we have any record. All this closely followed the 
Laramie treaty of July, 1866, to which reference has been 
made so repeatedly. 

Thus the war ended. The pathway was opened for emi- 
gration to what was then more attractive territory further 
west, and there was removed one obstacle to the final de- 
velopment of Wyoming, which was still a part of the Great 
American Desert. These events are mentioned also to 
show the general condition of affairs in Wyoming while we 
and hundreds of other travelers were following its trails. 



CHAPTER XVI 

The Mormon Trail 

IF while we were at our camp near Laramie on the 
bank of the North Platte we could have turned the 
wheels of time backward just nineteen years, we 
might have seen the first pioneer Mormon train in a 
long, straggling line slowly trekking across the trackless 
sands down the western slope that leads to the shore of that 
turbulent river, for this was the point where that band fer- 
ried the stream in a flat boat. 

According to the description of the expedition given in 
the diary of William Clayton, who was one of the party, 
and in our personal interviews with other participants, it 
was a promiscuous line of vehicles, seventy-two in all. 
Some of them were drawn each by two oxen, others by 
horses, and still others by mules. One hundred and forty- 
three men and boys and three women composed the party, 
the greater number being on foot. A few cows were driven 
in the rear. For seven weeks they had been pushing their 
way across the trackless plain, marking out the first white 
man's path that had been traced north of the Platte. 

Their wagon tracks were followed year after year, chiefly 
by teams of Mormon emigrants, and came to be known as 
the Mormon trail. Some of these trains consisted in part 
of hand carts drawn by men and women struggling to 

196 



THE MORMON TRAIL 197 

reach the desert valley in the mountains. Nearly every 
curve in the course of this trail until near the junction of 
the North and South Platte Rivers was followed later by 
the Union Pacific Railway as originally laid, its ties along 
much of its course being placed in the tracks of the first 
Mormon wagons. The railroad in recent years has been 
appreciably straightened. The Mormon trail entered the 
Oregon trail at the point where our boys were camped. 
This Mormon pilgrimage, as described in Mormon annals 
that were kindly furnished me by Mr. Jensen (at one time 
their church historian) reads like the exodus of the Children 
of Israel through the deserts of Arabia; and Brigham 
Young was the Moses. On reaching the river at the point 
where we were camped, they w^ere famishing with hunger. 
With the aid of a boat made of ox hides, they ferried some 
Oregon emigrants over the upper Platte in exchange for 
flour, which in their Thanksgiving service they described 
as manna sent from heaven. Fiery serpents were stated 
to have been encountered at various times, but later pil- 
grims have encountered nothing worse than rattlesnakes. 
They were surprised to find bitter waters along this un- 
known pathway, and their stock was suffering from thirst, 
but those who followed them found only alkali ponds, 
which indeed sometimes proved fatal to horses. They met 
hostile Indians, who were quite as much to be feared as 
were the giant sons of Anak, or the large-limbed Og of 
Bashan. 

This movement of the Mormons marks an important 
epoch in the physical development of the vast deserts of 
the West. They were the first emigrants to plant a suc- 
cessful colony between the Missouri and the Pacific Coast. 
If there ever was an apparently hopeless desert, on which 
agriculture would seem to be utterly impracticable, it was 



198 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

that which lies around and west of the Great Salt Lake. 
The climate was arid, and the dry soil was loaded with 
alkaline salts, supposedly destructive to most vegetable 
life. Risking the hazards of famine in a venture hitherto 
untried, they solved the problem of arousing the latent 
energies of an acrid, sterile soil in an arid climate, and 
made the desert bloom. 

True, the Babylonians and the Egyptians had practiced 
irrigation of rich, alluvial soils, but except as may be 
indicated by some ancient but now dry ditches toward our 
Mexican border, these Mormon colonists appear to be the 
first people to introduce a successful system of irrigation 
in this country; and this was the beginning of a new era for 
the Central West. 

In the endeavor to describe what the early nation build- 
ers really did, rather than to attempt to show what they 
were, we note the fact that in these annals of this first 
Mormon expedition are recorded from time to time the 
latitude and longitude, also the elevation above sea level of 
various points of their journey, the approximate accuracy 
of which is confirmed by later official surveys. In review- 
ing another diary of that first journey I find mention on 
each Sabbath (with two exceptions) of a rest on the jour- 
ney, with regular religious services; and for those two days 
the record is indefinite. 

A road-meter was constructed in the early part of the 
journey, which recorded the distances traveled. The 
greater number of these emigrants were Yankees and 
would be sure to devise everything needed that was within 
the range of human ingenuity and of their limited resources. 
In spite, therefore, of their poverty, they were prepared to 
adopt the most advanced methods of agriculture known 
in any country at that day. 



THE MORMON TRAIL 199 

It was an agreeable change to leave the level lands of 
the Platte region and enter the rough and broken country 
that characterizes the approach to the mountains. On 
our left rose the Laramie range, its highest peak being a 
prominent object of interest to us during many days. 
Although we were gradually ascending toward the great 
Continental divide, there were, nevertheless, many steep 
descents to make, as our road traversed the great folds on 
the earth's surface. One morning, after toiling for miles 
up a long ascent we unexpectedly found ourselves on 
the brink of an exceedingly steep declivity where our 
trail suddenly dropped down nearly a thousand feet, by 
a frightful grade. We carefully considered the problem 
before us, for it was evident that even with the brakes set 
it would be impossible for the horses to hold the load be- 
hind them for so great a distance without finally losing 
control ; and there was no resting place at any point down 
the long incline. The danger of a toboggan ride behind 
runaway horses was to be avoided. Our lightest wagon 
with a driver was prepared to start on the first trial. The 
wheels were locked, the felloes were wound with chains, 
and a drag rope was put out behind. Thus the wagon 
slowly ground its way downward until it disappeared 
beyond a curve far below in the valley. One wagon was 
run backward down a steep pitch, long ropes being used 
behind it, and was anchored from time to time to avail- 
able objects. 

Throughout this country there were evidences of great 
upheavals and faults in the rocks, the surface, as we 
crossed it, suddenly changing from clay to sandstone on 
edge within a rod of travel. Steep hills of sand alternated 
with others of clay or rock. For a distance of several 
miles a sheer precipice 80 to 100 feet in height rose from a 



^200 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

valley on our left to a broad table-land which extended to 
the southward. At the foot of those cliffs I saw great 
numbers of buffalo skeletons. A freighter informed us 
that in the year 1850, he saw a band of Indians stampede 
a great herd of buffalo upon those uplands. Forming a 
line in the rear of the animals, the Indians rushed upon 
them with yells and rattles and inciting a panic drove the 
beasts over the rocky precipice where uncounted numbers 
were maimed or killed by their own great weight, and the 
impact of others which fell upon them from the heights 
above. I have watched the stampeding of many buffalo 
herds and have observed that almost invariably they run 
in compact masses, like a flock of sheep. Their heads 
being held very low, those not in front are unable to see 
anything beyond the hairy flanks of the animals immedi- 
ately before them between which their noses are closely 
crowded. Their leaders in a stampede soon become 
leaders only in name, for they are pressed forward by the 
powerful monsters behind them, which, in a solid mass 
push everything forward, regardless of any pitfalls that 
may be in the way. A herd thus driven in a mass over 
such a cliff as we have described must have been like 
a vast Niagara of living, roaring, and bellowing monsters. 
At the foot of the precipice, when the work was done, 
there would lie piled high one above another in a deep 
windrow the quivering bodies of hundreds of buffalo. 
This explained the piles of buffalo skeletons at the foot of 
the cliffs. This method of capturing the buffalo was 
employed, because the Indians were able to sell the skins 
to the fur traders ; and from the best information available 
it would appear that no more than four pounds of cheap 
brown sugar or its equivalent in some other commodity 
was regarded as a fair price for the trader to pay for a 
good, Indian-tanned robe. 



THE MORMON TRAIL ^01 

The buffalo skeletons that had been left upon many 
parts of these vast hunting grounds remained until rail- 
roads penetrated the wilderness, when they were gathered 
and shipped by train loads, chiefly to St. Louis, to be used 
in the arts or to be converted into fertilizers. 

Statistics are given in another chapter which show 
approximately the number of millions of skeletons thus 
assembled and shipped. It is a sad commentary on 
American improvidence to note the passing in one genera- 
tion of these valuable animals which, with their natural 
increase, had they been protected with reasonable care, 
were sufficiently numerous to have furnished our entire 
nation with meat for many generations to come. The 
white man, who is chiefly responsible for this wanton 
slaughter, is still relentlessly pursuing the few remaining 
elk, deer, and other harmless wild game. 

On the day after leaving Laramie, one of my weeks of 
service as chef and general purveyor for the party ter- 
minated. The interesting affairs of the treaty had caused 
me in some degree to slight my responsibilities. The day 
now in question was the day for beans, and they were 
really served quite raw. Although our teeth were sound, 
it was found difficult to crack the hard kernels. There 
were other members of our party who, during their ser- 
vice as cooks, had been the objects of occasional criticism, 
chieffy because of the hard, tough bread they had furnished. 
It was now alleged by Pete that appetites had been in 
waiting for beans, and when they were served, some words 
were uttered that bordered on profanity; in general terms 
the cuisine of this particular occasion was characterized as 
damnable. The bacon was said to be "all right," but 
the bread was as heavy as a cake of putty, and if the stuff 
was allowed to get between the teeth, a sharp instrument 



202 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

would be required to remove it. It was declared that the 
beans, to which they had been looking forward with great 
expectation, were like gravel, and if introduced into the 
stomach might require a surgical operation to remove 
them. *' That's all right, Pete," I replied, *'this is the 
wild and free life on the plains. We were told all about 
this business before we started. Even the Children of 
Israel, the chosen people, lived for a long time in the 
wilderness on bread that had never been cooked. Of 
course they grumbled just as everybody grumbles who 
want the same old stuff they had when they were babies 
in Egypt. " Pete assured me with great earnestness that 
he was not an Israelite, that in his opinion my talk was all 
ridiculous nonsense; and dramatically pointing to the old 
black kettle that rested over the smouldering fire he said 
with a marked emphasis on each word, "/ speak now of 
those beans. *' 

After this definite particularization of the point at 
issue, there was a pause. The coffee had been disposed 
of and two or three of the boys wandered off to look after 
their horses. Pete, who was bent upon the inauguration of 
a reform, indicated his desire to make a few post-prandial 
remarks, whereupon those who remained gathered round 
the dying embers of the sage brush fire. The dirty, half 
empty tin plates still remained upon the ground, and 
while the party were seated, Pete rose to his feet as if with 
the determination to deliver his words with vigor and 
effect. Then with compressed lips and a look of earnest- 
ness upon his face, he pointed again to the old kettle in 
which some beans still simmered, and proceeded with his 
diatribe. 

"Boys, I want to say a word about beans, yes, about 
those beans right there in that kettle. Beans are getting 



THE MORMON TRAIL 203 

damn scarce, and the first thing we know, our beans will 
all be gone and we ain't had any, and can't get any. 
Now, I like beans and am hungry, but I don't like 'em 
raw and," with a vigorous expletive, "I won't stand it." 

Now Pete's life had been spent largely in a country hotel. 
When I mildly replied that our cooking in general compared 
very favorably with that of some articles which I had seen 
served on the table of that hotel, Pete's indignation was 
still more aroused. I had been sitting as quietly as possi- 
ble upon a box, but it suddenly became evident that my 
comfort and possibly my safety depended upon a change 
of base, for Pete was a powerful fellow and several years 
my senior. Moreover, I regarded my head as of far 
greater importance than my reputation as a sage brush 
cook, nor did I relish the thought of being buried in Wyom- 
ing simply to afford momentary gratification to a traveling 
companion, who had found no pleasure in half-cooked 
beans. And now came Dan Trippe in the role of media- 
tor. 

"Pete, you're densely ignorant," said Dan, as he also 
rose to his feet and faced Pete. "Don't you know that 
water boils at 212 degrees at sea level? In this high alti- 
tude it hardly gets hot when it boils. Any intelligent man 
knows that it can be made no hotter in the open air than 
boiling point. It requires hot water to boil beans. The 
head cook of the Astor house couldn't boil beans satisfac- 
torily up here. I couldn't do it myself. " 

Pete was visibly impressed with this profound philo- 
sophical statement, and with the wonders of the West, and 
after Dan had fully elaborated his theory, seemed to be 
convinced that the reasoning was possibly correct. After 
a minute of cogitation apparently in the endeavor to com- 
prehend the argument, Pete slowly replied, " It's all right. 



^04 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

boys, but no more high-altitude-cooked beans for me.*' 
Taking his tin plate with what remained upon it, without 
comment, he conveyed it to one of his horses, and the 
incident was closed. The boys, each of whom had at 
times failed to secure satisfactory results in cooking, were 
really amused by the discussion, for they realized that 
even experts under the most favorable conditions some- 
times fail to please fastidious appetites. Conditions 
arising in one's experience in a rough vagrant life, are cal- 
culated to bring to the surface previously unknown 
qualities in human nature. Pete would at any time 
divide his last good biscuit with another, or stand ready to 
defend a companion to the end, but he was now desperately 
hungry. Happily our party was, in general, harmonious. 

Throughout this country the same names are often 
applied to various distinct objects. On one evening we 
camped at one of the so-called Horse Shoe Creeks, a 
bright and sparkling stream. In that vicinity wild game 
was abundant. A few soldiers, who occupied a cabin 
nearby, had on that day dragged to their camp the huge 
body of a fine grizzly bear, which they had killed. After 
its skin was removed I assisted in dissecting some portions 
of the animal and in that operation became especially 
interested in the wonderful muscles of one of its arms. 
These were an indication of the herculean strength which 
these formidable beasts possess. The arm itself was much 
larger than would be believed from a judgment formed on 
seeing the animal in all its perfect proportions. Its muscles 
were not only remarkably large, but they were so tense 
and firm that with a keen knife it was difficult to sever 
them. 

The soldiers stated that recently a grizzly had been 
brought to bay some distance south of their cabin, and 



THE MORMON TRAIL 205 

after receiving several bullets from large calibre rifles it 
fell upon its side and lay motionless. The opinion was 
that at least one bullet had reached a vital spot. Know- 
ing, however, that the grizzly bear has wonderful vitality, 
unequalled perhaps by any other wild beast, one of the 
party as a precaution hastened to their cabin and unleashed 
three powerful dogs, which returned with the soldier. 
The dogs were soon barking, howling and dashing round 
the recumbent monster in the most excited manner, keep- 
ing somewhat at a distance, but not a movement nor sign 
of life was discovered in the wounded animal. Becoming 
bolder and perhaps encouraged by the men and by each 
other, the dogs approached closer toward the head of the 
grizzly, while they continued to bark and snap their teeth, 
keeping their eyes at all times upon the enemy. They 
were almost near enough to take the coveted nip with 
their teeth, when suddenly and unexpectedly even to the 
men, the grizzly made two or three quick motions with one 
paw which to all appearances were as soft and gentle as 
would be made by a kitten. Each of the dogs was thrown 
several feet and killed instantly by a little tap with that 
paw. The grizzly had not lifted his head from the ground, 
but there remained in him enough life, with his tremendous 
strength and celerity of motion, still to do a vast amount 
of damage if given an opportunity. Bear hunters have 
learned that it is not safe to trifle with a grizzly until sure 
that its last breath of life is gone. 

It was after leaving Horseshoe that I ran across an 
acquaintance, who with two companions had been hunting 
in Colorado. All were witnesses and vouched for the 
truth of the story then told me. My friend had the reputa- 
tion of having brought down nearly every kind of game 
in the West, but had long grieved because he had been 



206 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

unable to corner a grizzly. Finally one autumn day while 
the three were hunting in a narrow, wooded gorge, they 
observed their dogs to be in a state of great trepidation, 
which led them to discover two magnificent specimens of 
Ursus Horribilis, but a few rods away, a sight which they 
had previously supposed would cause their hearts to leap 
with joy. The great beasts on being discovered rose 
simultaneously upon their hind feet and stood side by side 
facing the hunters. Their mouths, as if inclined to smile, 
were slightly open, displaying sets of superb white teeth. 
The expression on their countenances was one combining 
dignity and perfect self-confidence. The hunters declared 
to me that although eight feet might be a fair estimate, 
the animals appeared to them to be forty feet in height. 
And there they were — two magnificent specimens of an 
animal which for strength, ferocity, and endurance com- 
bined, probably has no equal. The dogs were quite in the 
background but it was certain that something was likely 
to happen in the near future if an attack should be made. 
The hunter frankly confessed that he said to his compan- 
ions, "I've been hunting for a grizzly for months. I've 
found two and only wanted one. Let's go home. " The 
dogs were well out of the valley before the hunters lost 
sight of the bears. 

On leaving Fort Laramie our train as usual became 
separated from the others, but we soon found ourselves 
in company with some emigrants coming from the middle 
states. Among them were several comparatively young, 
married people, also three or four young women. Some of 
these emigrants were destined to Montana, to cast their 
fortunes in that new country, which none of them had 
ever seen. They appeared to be a vigorous, intelligent, 
and in some instances cultured company of men and 



THE MORMON TRAIL 207 

women, worthy and well-fitted to establish a new settle- 
ment. They were taking with them cows, chickens, and 
a more complete supply of household comforts than we 
saw at any other time on our travels. We understood 
that their purpose was to adopt the Mormon method of 
farming by irrigation. One of the young women was 
intending to establish a school for the little colony. 

One evening after a pleasant interview with some mem- 
bers of the company, one of the young men brought us 
a pail of milk as a token of good will. A bouquet of roses 
is without doubt an acceptable gift to one who is surfeited 
with all that appeals to the appetite, but after having 
survived two months upon fried bacon and tough bread, 
one's stomach becomes wonderfully responsive to some 
of the staple, commonplace luxuries to which it was 
once accustomed. This incident led us to "warm up" 
very closely to the party with the cows. 

On the following day our two parties came up with a 
large mule outfit known as Kuykendall's train. Its cap- 
tain, who was familiar with the country, informed us that 
if we desired to go by the South Pass we were on the wrong 
trail, that the one which we were now taking was known 
as the " cut off " and soon trended to the North. We must 
retm*n to Horseshoe Creek. It was then discovered that 
the emigrants represented two parties, one of which also 
decided to go by the South Pass. The entire train was 
halted for re-organization, after which those who were to 
retrace their course turned their teams toward the east 
and ranged them along side by side with the main body. 

Travelers often remember with great pleasure the pass- 
ing acquaintance of those who have been agreeable com- 
panions for a brief time in foreign travel on the luxurious 
steamers upon the ocean, or on the Nile; and possibly even 



208 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

more interesting might such acquaintance become in lands 
outside the beaten paths pursued by one's own country- 
men. This, however, can hardly compare with the pro- 
found interest and concern that one feels toward the com- 
panions of a wandering life in the wilderness, where travel- 
ers are held together for mutual support and protection. 
Thus it was on our separation from this party of emigrants 
and the train of freighters, whose trying ordeal was soon to 
come. Some of the members promised to communicate 
with us at Salt Lake City and inform us concerning their 
trip. With expressions of mutual good will and hopes 
for each other's safety, we parted and moved on in opposite 
directions, while slowly the unpi tying distance widened 
between us. 

"One ship drives East, another drives West, 
While the self -same breezes blow; 
'Tis the set of the sails, and not the gales 
That bids them where to go. " 

It may be stated here that the emigrant party did com- 
municate with us. It was not many weeks after our 
arrival in Salt Lake, that two of the young men came to 
that city and informed us that after we turned back they 
had moved on in advance of the big mule train and near 
the close of the day after we separated and while their 
wagons were coralled in camp, they were surrounded by 
savages. Being well armed, they resisted a prolonged 
attack. Every animal they had was captured and run 
off by the Indians. The party was relieved by a detach- 
ment of mounted soldiers who, through some agency to 
them unknown, had learned that they were in trouble. 
The women passed through the ordeal bravely, fighting 
side by side with their husbands and brothers, well know- 



THE MORMON TRAIL 209 

ing what capture would mean to them. After but little 
loss of life they were enabled to move their wagons by 
consolidation with the other outfit, wliich had a similar 
experience. This attack took place on the 15th of July 
after assurances from the post sutler and others at Fort 
Laramie that the Indians were satisfied and no trouble 
need be expected. Red Cloud and his band, scattered 
through that country, were on the warpath. 

Our party, in company with the emigrants who had de- 
cided to retrace their steps on reaching the proper trail, 
proceeded onward toward the west. The road was rough 
with many steep inclines but there were fine streams like 
LaBonte and LaParelle, which afforded welcome camp 
grounds. Although the days were hot and clear, the nights 
were cool, and the two parties naturally gravitated toward 
each other around the camp fires. The younger travelers 
fortunately found others of a similar age. Three young 
ladies, ranging in age from eighteen to twenty -two years, 
were a rare sight in that country. But they were with us, 
and living in a manner that indicated they had been accus- 
tomed to many of the good things of a well-ordered home. 
The most luxurious banquet in which I was permitted to 
share in those days was spread one evening before our 
bacon and coffee had been served. Some liberal slices of 
peach pie were sent to us from our neighbor's camp — dried 
peach pie, of course, but peach pie nevertheless. Fast for 
weeks on dried paste and bacon scraps; travel every day 
from morning till night over difficult roads; and then in 
the cool of some evening, when hungry and empty, receive 
a peach pie made bj^ a woman who knows how to make it, 
and you know what a banquet really means. As it was 
said to have been the first occasion during their trip on 
which they had undertaken to prepare this kind of pastry. 



210 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

we recognized the event as a special dispensation. Fred 
was absent from the train on the following day for an un- 
usual length of time, and sufficiently long almost to cause 
uneasiness on our part, but when I saw him come in with an 
antelope over his saddle, I knew the girls in the other 
camp would have the choicest cut of antelope steak for 
breakfast. 

In time, after climbing over hills and traversing rough 
prairies, we reached Fort Caspar, near which was the only 
bridge across the North Platte River. On receiving orders 
that we should not be permitted to proceed beyond the 
west valley until the regulation number of wagons and 
men had been assembled, we were allowed to cross. A 
toll of five dollars per wagon enabled us to reach the other 
shore. We passed on three-fourths of a mile beyond the 
bridge, where the parties separated and camped. 



CHAPTER XVII 

Wild Midnight Revelry in the Caspar Hills 

THERE are spots in foreign lands, the objects of 
never-failing interest because of some heroic 
deeds with which they are associated, the mem- 
ory of which has been perpetuated in history. 
Our camp near Caspar happened to be pitched upon a spot 
glorified by the blood of heroes as brave and patriotic as 
the Spartans who fell at Thermopylae. The desperate 
conflict of our soldiers upon this Wyoming field against 
overwhelming numbers was hardly less dramatic than was 
that of the Greeks and well deserves an honored place in 
the memory of Americans. Hardly two rods from our 
camp there stood a little monument marking the spot 
where a few months prior to our visit Lieutenant Caspar 
W. Collins and his little band were slain while voluntarily 
making a valorous and almost hopeless effort to save the 
lives of a score of comrades, in the face of thousands of 
desperate and blood-thirsty savages. Although we had 
some previous knowledge of this tragedy, our first impulse 
was to recross the river to the post and from eye witnesses 
learn the particulars of the thrilling battle. As soon as 
our supper was eaten, four of our party started down 
stream toward the bridge. The post formerly known as 
Platte Bridge had now, in recognition of Collins' valorous 

211 



212 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

deed, been named Fort Caspar, by order of Major General 
Pope commanding. 

The range near-by was also named the Caspar Moun- 
tains. The post lay near the southern bank of the North 
Platte River, 133 miles above Fort Laramie and less than 
a mile below the site of the monument. It consisted of 
fifteen or twenty structures built on the sides of an open 
quadrangle. 

Sauntering along the river bank on our way to the post, 
we carefully surveyed the scene of the fight and its environ- 
ment. Back of the fort, at no great distance from the 
stream, lay a high table-land, its abrupt and barren face, 
where it rose from the valley, being creased with wrinkled 
folds by erosion. Beyond this and further to the south 
the Caspar range of mountains stood out in jagged outlines 
against a cloudless Wyoming sky. Seen through the pure 
and wonderfully transparent air, and illuminated by the 
bright Hght of the setting sun, the distant deeply-wooded 
gorges and rocky peaks seemed hardly a mile away. To- 
ward the north and embracing the battle-field the valley 
extends back a short distance to a steep ascent, beyond 
which is a rough, broken, elevated region that might afford 
concealment to a numerous enemy. Where it is crossed 
by the bridge, the river is about 100 yards in width. Cross- 
ing it, we soon found ourselves among oflScers and soldiers; 
and from those of them who had guarded that structure 
during the massacre we learned the story, parts of it from 
some and parts from others. It came in detached and 
thrilling fragments, for the incidents were still fresh in 
their memory, and the thrills they had experienced on the 
day of the fight were renewed in their vigorous narration. 
We were informed that the death of Lieutenant Collins 
and his men was but one, though doubtless the most 



WILD MIDNIGHT REVELRY 213 

dramatic, in a series of Indian massacres that ensanguined 
that fatal trail during the few preceding months. I have 
heard descriptions of several of these events from eye- 
witnesses. 

Lieutenant Collins was born in Hillsboro, Ohio, and at 
the time of the fight was in appearance but a youth and 
in fact only twenty years of age. He was a son of Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Collins, a brave Indian fighter, in honor 
of whom Fort Collins in Colorado was named. Young 
Collins had been in the Indian country for three years 
preceding his last fight, a portion of the time with James 
Bridger. As we stood looking across the river toward the 
plain where the battle was fought, one of the oflScers said: 
"Last July Indians in great numbers seemed to be gather- 
ing just north of the bridge somewhere in those hills on the 
other side of the river. They came in there from various 
directions. Many of them were supposed to have come 
over from the Bitter Creek country, where nearly every 
station on that route had been raided. It was impossible 
to form any definite idea of their number, except that we 
were certain there were many thousands of them near us. 
On July 25th, Lieutenant Collins came in from the East. 
On the same day several hundred savages crossed the 
river and stampeded the stock on the reservation. The 
garrison at the post was exceedingly small and although 
the loss of even a few men would be a serious matter, 
a small party of cavalry and infantry was sent out to re- 
cover the stock if possible. This effort simply resulted in 
the loss of a few men on each side. The Indians finally 
recrossed the river to their rendezvous in the hills. Just 
about day -break on the following morning a few men from 
the 11th Ohio cavalry came in from Fort Laramie and at 
once reported a train of wagons with a small guard from 



214 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

the 11th Kansas cavalry as coming from the west and, as 
they must pass along the trail at the foot of the hills among 
which the Indians were holding their vigils, they were sure 
to be attacked. And now came the critical moment. The 
men in the post were quickly called to headquarters. It 
was at once decided to send out a detachment of twenty- 
five men, in the feeble hope that they might accomplish a 
rescue. In casting about for a leader for this hazardous 
venture, one after another declined the service. Lieuten- 
ant Collins, although he had just arrived, offered himself 
at the first opportunity, saying, "I will undertake the task, 
if I can have a good, fresh horse, as mine is badly fagged 
from my ride." The Lieutenant appeared to be but a 
boy, but he had a known record for bravery and endurance. 
Major Howard accepted the volunteer, and although some 
of the older soldiers openly discouraged the undertaking, 
the young leader quickly mounted a fresh, spirited horse 
and in the early morning, at the head of his little body of 
mounted men, rapidly galloped over the bridge, followed 
more slowly by thirty infantry. Caspar's band had not 
proceeded more than three-fourths of a mile, when the 
hills on both sides of it were suddenly alive with savages, 
who in thousands rushed down the slopes and out from 
every ravine, closing in upon the detachment with hideous 
howls and yells, *'as if all the devils of the infernal regions 
had been turned loose.' ' At this point, the men who knew 
the story pointed dramatically now in one direction and 
now in another, to the actual places where these movements 
occurred. "A desperate but hopeless hand-to-hand fight 
was described as having taken place right over the river, 
in plain sight from the post. The infantry halted because 
they were already in the battle, pouring their bullets as 
rapidly as possible into the savages. The only big gun at 



WILD MIDNIGHT REVELRY 215 

the fort was quickly brought into action by the guard left 
at the post, and did good service, as its shells reached the 
enemy across the river. Some of our men detailed to 
guard the bridge held their positions and brought many 
Indians low. But the great Chief Red Cloud was over 
there, and could be seen rushing across the field as if to 
inspire his red warriors to annihilate our men, and, as far 
as the cavalry, which was at the front, was concerned, 
they practically did it." 

In the tumult of this unequal combat young Caspar was 
seen surrounded by savages. His spirited steed, seemingly 
conscious of defeat and panic-stricken by the hideous din 
of Indian yells and war-whoops, became unmanageable, 
both horse and rider fell fighting, precisely where the grave- 
stone stands. The greater number of his men were 
already slaughtered. The bridge held by the infantry 
afforded retreat for a few men. And thus ran the story 
into many other details. 

The day after the fight a detachment of cavalry crossed 
the bridge and recovered the body of the brave hero. An 
effort was made by the Indians to cut off these riders, but 
our men succeeded in reaching the guarded bridge. The 
next day the beleagured garrison saw the little train, the 
arrival of which was anticipated, coming over a distant 
hill from the west. Suddenly and within full view of the 
fort, Red Cloud and about five hundred warriors made a 
dash upon them. Three of the soldiers escaped by swim- 
ming the river but the remaining men fought bravely until 
the last man fell. A messenger had previously been dis- 
patched from the fort to General Connor to send assistance 
at once. Several companies of the 6th Michigan cavalry 
responded, making forced marches. The Indians had 
withdrawn before the arrival of these reinforcements. 



£16 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

The bitter war continued, however, until the winter set in, 
when, through the vacillating policy of the War Depart- 
ment, General Connor was withdrawn from Wyoming. 

Before we separated from the officers at the post they 
advised us that it would be imprudent for us to leave 
Caspar except with a strong party. The regular order was 
still in force providing for the minimum number of armed 
men that would be permitted to go out from a post. Ac- 
cordingly we settled down in our camp and remained four 
days, awaiting the arrival of reinforcements. There were 
very few travelers on that road. 

During our sojourn in that valley the experience of one 
particular night led us to comprehend at least one of the 
reasons why the Indians so earnestly desired to retain 
undisturbed possession of this territory. Their wealth 
was the wild game, but the only means by which we could 
learn the extent of this wealth was for each wild beast 
living along that range to come out from its lair and speak 
so as to be easily heard and counted. An opportunity for 
an approximate enumeration was offered by a festive 
gathering of those wild inhabitants of the hills. It oc- 
curred on the second night at Caspar. Paul had been 
standing guard until midnight. At about that hour he 
quietly awakened me and asked me to come outside the 
tent. Taking my rifle, which as usual was lying at my 
side, I stepped out into the bright moonlight. "I wished 
you to hear this wonderful concert, " said Paul in explana- 
tion. My ears instantly caught the multitude of wild, 
weird sounds that came from far and near and from every 
point of the compass. Although those voices were legion, 
yet, since the greater number of them came from miles 
away, they were so softened by distance that they did not 
jar upon the ear. It was a wonderfully still, calm night; 



WILD MIDNIGHT REVELRY 217 

hardly a zephyr stirred the air; and distance both to the 
eye and ear seemed to be eliminated. The moon shone 
from the cloudless Wyoming sky with extraordinary bril- 
liancy and apparent nearness. The outhnes of the well- 
wooded Caspar range w^ere sharply defined against the 
blue expanse beyond. Their dark shadows by contrast 
emphasized the undulations of the intervening valley and 
the glittering waters of the river that flowed through it, 
all of which were flooded by the soft, resplendent moon- 
light. Was it that big, bright moon that had brought out 
the myriad denizens of the hills to howl their wild refrains.'^ 
Paul and I stood for a time spellbound as this vision, 
seemingly unreal, came to our eyes. To our ears a chorus 
of unblended sounds came down from the mountain from 
points far removed one from another, as if here and there a 
concourse of wild beasts had by prearrangement assembled 
in various places to engage in a nocturnal carousal. Every 
creature native to the hills, that had a voice, seemed to 
take some part in the orgies; and though dissonant, yet 
those wild voices of the night were in harmony with the 
rugged setting of the gorges from which they came, and 
were wonderfully fascinating. The mountain lions entered 
into the convivialities with tremendous earnestness. Their 
vicious screams at times were intense and fierce as if the 
animals were in deadly strife, but when their fervent notes 
softened down to a low, attenuated, sympathetic purring 
we recognized in them a marked similarity to the midnight 
duets of their congener, the domestic cat. It was not the 
mountains alone that furnished the stage for this midnight 
serenade to the moon. From other quarters came other 
yelpings and roars and growls impossible to classify. The 
wolves in the valley near-by howled ceaseless responses 
in this remarkable antiphonal chorus. Coyotes without 



218 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

number joined in the Saturnalia of nocturnal revelry, and 
barked incessantly from every direction; while the blood- 
hounds at the distant fort bayed deep-toned warning of 
their guardianship. Even the bull frogs from the pool 
near the river bank, serene in their watery home, peace- 
fully croaked in plaintive monotone. These numberless, 
inarticulate voices, so varied in quality, were evidence that 
along that range there was a remarkable abundance of 
wild animal life, which in the daytime lurked unseen in 
unfrequented places; but these sounds did not reveal the 
presence of the hosts of antelope, elk, deer, and other timid 
animals with which the country also abounded. 

The situation was so interesting and fascinating that I 
finally aroused Ben and Fred, and together we wandered 
down toward the river and up its bank, listening to the 
concert as we proceeded. Observing upon a little bluff a 
man's form with a rifle upon his shoulder silhouetted 
against the clear sky beyond we called "hello " as a friendly 
announcement, assuming that he also was on guard. He 
responded with a similar salutation and invited us to come 
up. He proved to be the father of the young ladies with 
whom we had returned from the "cut off," who had now 
camped with his party some distance beyond. We will 
refer to him as Mr. Warne, a name similar to his true name. 
We asked him if he was standing guard. "Yes," he 
replied, "it is a beautiful night, and as we cannot travel 
tomorrow I decided to give one of our men a rest. The 
girls are down below on the rocks. I brought them out to 
hear the music from the hills. They are sitting there 
wrapped in blankets. " Sure enough, there they were, 
quite out of sight. As we approached, one of the yoimg 
ladies lifted a rifle into view and with a laugh demanded 
the pass word. Fred responded immediately, " Peach pie," 



WILD MIDNIGHT RE\^LRY 219 

for he was addressing the young lady who had sent the pie 
with her compHments when we were on the Montana road. 
The pass word was accepted as satisfactory. The girls 
remarked that they were not out ordinarily at that unseem- 
ly hour, but they had been invited by their father to listen 
to the animals. As each fresh squall came from the 
mountain lions over the river, a subdued exclamation of 
some sort, generally bordering on both admiration and 
apprehension, came from their lips. While there, our 
attention was attracted by two or three long-legged 
wolves that skulked near-by within easy rifle range — but a 
shot at that hour would bring out the camp, and wolf 
meat was not a desirable diet. Not wishing to protract 
our midnight call we said "Good-morning" and sauntered 
back toward our tents, being confident with regard to the 
concert, that we had listened to the star artists from over 
the river. 

During the following day no travelers arrived to make 
up the regulation number and enable us to proceed. On the 
following night, there being some change in the weather, 
Ben, Fred, and I occupied one mattress in Ben's tent, and 
all were soon asleep. Some time in the night I became 
half conscious of two or three claps of thunder and the 
roaring of a terrific fall of rain upon the roof of the tent, 
which came in as a mist through the canvas. Lying near 
the edge of the mattress upon which we had for that 
night crowded ourselves, I accidentally put my hand out- 
side the blanket and into a running stream of water which 
was flowing into the tent. Conscious that trouble was 
ahead of us I took up my rifle, which had been lying at my 
side, and stepped out and into the water, to find that the 
tent was being rapidly flooded. I spoke to the Deacon 
through the darkness. He promptly responded and in- 



220 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

formed me that he had just discovered the flood and was 
rolhng his mattress into a bundle upon a small box. 
*'Boys, wake up!" we shouted, for Ben and Fred were as 
yet wholly unconscious of the impending deluge. "What 
do you want?" said Ben sleepily, but before I had time to 
explain he shouted, "I'm all afloat, get out of here, Fred, 
quick!" Fred responded with alacrity, for the water was 
rising and had begun to come through the mattress. We 
soon found ourselves camped in a newly-formed pond. 
Our previous experience had taught us that tents should 
not be pitched in a depression, but the ground was so dry 
when we camped and the sky had been cloudless for so long 
a time, that we were careless. The lesson now was better 
learned. We protected our rifles and other valuable articles 
as thoroughly as possible and waded out from the pond, 
through the rain, to our wagons to await the coming of the 
morning. The sun rose in a fairly clear sky, although 
showers seemed to be lingering up in the mountains. On 
the following day Pete negotiated with the post sutler for 
some supplies, on the basis of 15 cents per pound for corn 
and 40 cents for bacon, which were regarded as reasonable 
prices. The day, however, was devoted chiefly to drying 
out blankets and clothing and to long trips in search of 
fuel, which in the valley was exceedingly scarce. A call 
at the Warne camp resulted in the information that the 
campers there had suffered but little from the severe storm, 
as their tents were on higher ground, although they re- 
ported the pelting of the rain as being terrific and having 
a sound like hail. Toward noon of the fourth day Kreigh- 
ton's freight train of forty wagons with mules arrived from 
the east, having succeeded after great hardships in crossing 
the Platte. After noon we all joined the caravan and 
threaded our way westward along very rough roads up 



WILD MIDNIGHT REVELRY 221 

and down many steep hills until we reached the vicinity 
of Red Buttes, eleven miles beyond Fort Caspar, where 
we camped for the night. We had bid goodbye to our 
interesting Caspar Camp ground and to the Platte River, 
which for 500 miles had been almost constantly near us. 
For this stream every traveler on these plains must be 
thankful, stretching as it does through arid wastes. With- 
out it we should have found it difficult to exist. Since 
that day the tributaries of the turbulent Platte have been 
diverted to irrigation purposes, leaving it at times little 
else than an extinct river. 

After supper Ben, Fred and I strolled out on foot for a 
closer inspection of the Red Buttes, which are so named 
because of their deep red coloring. They are similar in 
character to those in the Garden of the Gods in Colorado, 
though more extensive. The summits like those of many 
of the bluffs in the clay lands, are level and apparently 
destitute of vegetation. The sides are nearly perpendicu- 
lar, and as they offered no temptation for a climb, we 
turned our footsteps toward the camp. The sun had 
just sunk below the horizon, and a big, bright moon was 
already on duty, to give promise of a glorious night. Over- 
taking a grizzled old man who had evidently been travel- 
ing in the protection of the big train, we accosted him, as 
was the free and easy custom in the West. He answered 
us cheerily and congratulated us on having finally fallen 
in with the train, as he was confident that no other outfit 
would soon be mo\'ing westward over that road. 

"Are you a freighter?" we asked. 

"No," he repHed, "and yet I may say that I have done 
considerable traveling through this country with trains 
that carried freight. I have a ranch west of here." 

"Have you had much trouble with the Indians.'^" we 
naturally asked. 



222 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

"They have been keeping us pretty busy the last two 
years. Did you hear about Hugh Kuykendall's train?" 
he continued. "Yes," was the reply, "we separated 
from it on Friday, the 13th of this month. Is there any- 
thing new concerning it.^^" 

"Yes," he replied, "it was attacked by the Sioux, and 
at last reports the train was surrounded by about seven 
hundred Indians, and the men were trying to hold them 
off and will put up a stiff fight. A header who was on the 
outside rode in and reported the situation at Horse Shoe 
Creek, and a few troops were sent forward to assist, and 
that is the latest. Remember, boys, that you are in the 
Indian country, and you should keep pretty close to your 
base. " 

"Have you been in this country long? " we asked. 

"Yes, several years. As a boy I was with Descoteaux, 
the trapper, who in 1842 was with Colonel John C. Fre- 
mont and with him made the ascent of Fremont Peak. " 

Pursuing this line of conversation as we were approach- 
ing our camp we asked the trapper's name. "I am known 
as Tom Soon, but the two words together sound so like 
Thompson that I am often known by that name." On 
reaching the camp we presented Tom to the Warnes. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

A Night at Red Buttes 

IT was a clear and beautiful moonlit night. The 
towering cliffs of Red Buttes cast their shadows to 
the westward, but in every other direction not a tree 
nor shrub large enough to shade a Jack rabbit was 
visible. 

Mr. Warne had received the old trapper very cordially, 
and in a few moments they were sitting side by side upon 
a portable wagon seat placed upon the ground and were 
engaged in conversation, while the young ladies half re- 
clined near them upon some bundles and blankets. There 
being an innate propensity in persons with active social 
instincts to enliven the embers of a languishing fire when 
friends gather round it, Ben and Fred piled wild sage 
brush upon the glowing coals, and soon the cheerful flames 
blazed welcome to all the boys (except Paul, who was on 
guard) and lighted up the faces of the campers as they 
drew nigh to the circle. The old deacon was called from 
his tent, for though dignified and circumspect, as all good 
deacons are supposed to be, he was not averse to associa- 
tion with younger, and more convivial companions. A 
post of honor was assigned him upon an empty soap box, 
near the host. 

Big Pete was there, and after approaching the radiance 
sidewise with one arm before his face to shield it from the 

223 



224 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

fierce glow of the fire, with the other hand he pulled from 
the burning heap a long twig, the end of which was a live 
coal; and drawing back to a safe position solemnly lighted 
his pipe; then slowly doubling himself together like a jack- 
knife, he sank to a soft and safe anchorage upon a bag of 
horse feed. Dan and his boon companion, Noah, floated 
in later and gradually adjusted themselves to the uneven 
surface of the least rugged boulders that were near at 
hand. Dan had traveled rather extensively for those 
days, and had made a trip to Pike's Peak in search of gold; 
in fact he was something of an adventurer, a good scholar, 
and a man well informed on general topics. His father 
had been a physician and was an early Wisconsin pioneer. 

"What do you think of the situation out here, Mr. 
Soon?" said Dan to the old trapper. 

"I believe that there is trouble ahead," was the reply. 
"The Government agents have not been square with the 
Indians and the Indians know it. The Indians will do as 
they agree until the whites go back on their promises, or 
do mean things to them; and they have done it. Why, 
there is that Captain of Russell and Major's train who 
brags that he has killed more than a hundred Indians, 
and that he will shoot an Indian at sight every good chance 
he gets, and now comes this treaty at Laramie that every 
one knows is a fraud. These Indians up here are dead 
sure to fight for their hunting grounds." 

" I think Mr. Soon is right, " said Dan. " We have been 
talking nearly every day about these Indian troubles, and 
people forget that an Indian has a sense of honor and will 
stand by an agreement as faithfully as the average white 
man will. There are some qualities in Indian character 
not generally understood, which are as interesting as their 
savagery and show how they regard a contract. " 



A NIGHT AT RED BUTTES 225 

Dan then pointed to a young fellow who was stretched 
out upon the ground near the fire and said, "Now the 
parents of that chap there and my parents were close 
neighbors in Wisconsin 'way back in the thirties. Being 
older than he is, I remember an incident which all the few 
who were there were familiar with. These pioneers all 
lived in log cabins. This young fellow's father, on one 
occasion, was endeavoring to conduct some negotiations 
with a band of Winnebago Indians, who were assembled in 
front of his cabin. The settlers had learned a few words 
used by that tribe, but not enough to enable them to con- 
verse intelligently, and so the bargain was not concluded. 
In a thoughtless moment, and with a view to amuse his 
young wife, who stood near the open door, he addressed 
the Chief, and directing his attention to his own spouse, 
asked if he would swap squaws. The proposition was 
received with an approving nod and a significant grunt, 
which was regarded by the father as proof that the Winne- 
bago chief comprehended the humorous point of the pro- 
position, and understood that the white man's talk often 
means the opposite from what his words imply. The 
Indians departed and all went well until the following day, 
when the young wife, casting a glance from the door, ob- 
served the chief approaching with his band. At his side 
was his squaw. It required but a moment for the mother 
to comprehend the situation. The father was not at 
home, but she instantly slammed the door, pulled in the 
latch string (used then in all our doors) and seizing that 
young fellow, then only two or three months old, slid out 
of a back window and struck across the country for the 
cabin of a neighbor. When the father came home, the 
house was vacant and no wife was in hearing to answer 
to his many shouts, After a while he rounded up his wife 



226 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

at the neighbor's house where she was hiding. The father, 
on learning what had occurred, said he didn't propose to 
joke any more with the Indians." 

**I know all about that affair," continued Dan, "and it 
shows that when an Indian makes a trade, whether it is of 
wives or the occupation of lands, he expects to carry it out, 
and if the other fellows don't do it, of course it's the begin- 
ning of trouble and the end of confidence. They know 
nothing about dickering and double-meaning phrases." 

We soon gave the old trapper an opportunity to relate 
some incidents in his life in the West, which had been full 
of interesting experiences. He told of the important part 
the fur traders and trappers had played in Wyoming and 
the far West; of their exposures and perils, and how they 
had been the earliest explorers, giving names to the streams 
and many of the mountains. "But," he added, "this 
frontier life has not all consisted of Indian fighting and 
hunting," and with this statement he knocked the ashes 
from his pipe upon the heel of his boot, and from a huge 
pouch of tobacco, slowly refilled it as if to give time for 
his suggestions to find a response. It was evident that 
something was coming into his mind that he was about 
ready to impart. Miss Margaret immediately said that 
she was glad to hear of something in western life besides 
fighting, and that with such glorious nights as she had 
seen in Wyoming, she believed that now and then some- 
thing should occur that is not mixed up with bloodshed. 

"Well, Miss," said Tom, after taking a long pull from 
his pipe, "your friend has told you about Indian agree- 
ments, and the trading of wives. I'll tell you one story 
that I know all about. Among the old trappers and 
traders of early days, there were many young Frenchmen. 
I think they made more money out of the business than 



A NIGHT AT RED BUTTES 227 

all the rest of the traders put together. There was one 
fine young fellow, whose name was Jules La Chance. He 
was working for the old American Fur Company for quite 
a while up north of here in the country of the Crow Indians. 
Now the Crows had 'most always been on pretty good 
terms with us fellows, and in fact with all the whites, but 
they were always in trouble with the Sioux. The Crow 
women were more attractive than the women of most of 
the other tribes. They knew how to tan skins very 
finely, so that they would be very soft and white, and the 
Crow girls were able to dress themselves very attractively. 
The hair of all the Crow Indians was long, and the women 
parted it carefully. Many of the trappers and traders 
had been married to Indian girls, and Jules finally ran 
across the daughter of one of the Crow chiefs whose name 
was Oo-je-an-a-he-ah, who he believed would suit him 
pretty well as a wife. He could speak Crow a little, as 
well as Sioux, so he told her that he liked her pretty well, 
whereupon she said that she liked him pretty well, and 
that was about all that happened that day — but it meant 
very much to an Indian girl. 

*'The next day Jules started off eastward on some work 
that he had to do in the Sioux territory, where some of the 
trappers and traders of his Company were engaged. The 
Indians there, however, at that time were making con- 
siderable trouble for the four or five white men. One of 
the traders concluding that a little whiskey, of which the 
Indians are fond, would help to soften the feeling between 
them, gave a few warriors who had come into their camp 
as much of the stuff as they wanted for present use. In a 
short time they had become pretty full and very noisy, 
but finally quieted down. It was well into the night when 
Jules, who sat near the door of the lodge, felt a touch upon 



228 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

his shoulder. Quickly turning his head he observed a 
Sioux girl fifteen or sixteen years of age, whom he had 
previously seen in the near-by Indian village, and who 
had heard him speak in her native tongue. She now 
beckoned him to come to her, and informed him that the 
Sioux had already planned to take their property and 
possibly their lives; that she had come directly from near 
a lodge in the village where she had overheard some 
warriors discussing the plans, which also involved a raid 
into the country of the Crows where the trappers had 
their headquarters. She said the ponies belonging to Jules 
and his party had already been taken, and asked Jules to 
follow her. All this was condensed in a few whispered 
words. Jules re-entered their camp where the Indians 
were quietly resting. One or two of them, who were 
apparently somewhat conscious of what was happening, 
were again permitted free access to the whiskey. Jules, 
quietly and unobservedly, slipped some guns to the out- 
side from under the tent, and soon was able to signal his 
companions to meet him outside. He handed them their 
guns, and then whispered to them to follow him and not 
speak. 

**He found the girl standing erect in the darkness exactly 
where he had left her. Taking Jules by the hand, she led 
him with swift footsteps toward the river which, running 
northward, empties itself into the great Missouri. The 
entire party followed silently. Not a word was spoken 
until the river bank was reached. Then, to the surprise of 
all, the girl addressed them in very fair English, and told 
them that her father when living was a fur trader with M. 
G. Sublette of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company and her 
mother was a daughter of a Chief of the Minnecongoux 
baud of Sioux, She said that her father had always been 



A NIGHT AT RED BUTTES 2^9 

friendly with the Sioux, but was killed in a raid of that 
tribe by an accidental shot. 

"*You have no horses now/ she said, *as they have 
already been taken by my people, but here is a boat that 
will carry you down the stream nearer to your home camp, 
and I wish you to escape quickly, and I hope when the 
trouble is over to see you again. ' 

*'One of the traders ventured to strike a light that they 
might get a better glimpse of their benefactress, and more 
than one of them recognized the dress and features of the 
Indian girl as one who had attracted their attention on 
the preceding day in the village. The Indian tastes of the 
girl had found expression in an abundance of beads and a 
fine deerskin dress, but the long black hair hung in two 
braids at her back. Her complexion was rather fair, and 
the mouth was more delicately formed than is usual with 
the full-blooded Indians. Her name in the tribe, she said 
was Oo-jan-ge (Light). 

"There was no time to be lost. Jules had upon his little 
finger a plain gold ring, which he removed and slipped 
upon a finger of the Indian girl, saying to her, 'Keep that 
to remember me, but take care of yourself and don't get 
into trouble for what you have done.' The girl at once 
started on a swift pace toward the village, and was soon 
lost from sight in the darkness. 

"The situation was simple. Their horses had been cap- 
tured since the sun had set and the girl had surely shown 
Jules' party the way of escape, for here was a boat quite 
like a large tub made of skins and lying on the shore. It 
was sufficiently large to float them. There were also rude 
paddles, which were all that was necessary to steer the 
craft down the stream. The men were soon afloat, and 
when the morning dawned they were more than thirty 



^30 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

miles farther down stream. They pulled upon the western 
bank at a point which had been previously visited by two 
of the party. There they succeeded in killing an antelope, 
parts of which they managed to cook without any regular 
cooking utensils. 

"The first thought calling for action, that had arisen in 
the mind of Jules, was to proceed at once to the head Chief 
of the Crows and convey to him information concerning the 
impending raid of the Sioux. By the morning of the fol- 
lowing day the trappers were at the Crow village. To 
whom could Jules more properly convey the tidings than 
to Oo-je-an-a-he-ah, to whom he frankly told the story of 
his recent adventure ? In less than an hour several hundred 
Crow Indians in detached bodies were skulking to the 
eastward and surely enough on the following morning met 
the advancing Sioux who, being completely surprised, met 
with disastrous defeat, the survivors falling back across 
the river after heavy loss. 

"The Crows returned to camp with numerous scalps, 
but none of the warriors except the Chief knew from what 
source came the information that led to the victory. 
Jules, however, was at once a hero in the lodge of the 
Chief. A dog dinner was served for him, which was re- 
garded as the noblest banquet that could be set before an 
honored guest. Oo-je-an-a-he-ah was gratified that one 
upon whom she looked as her fiance should be in such high 
favor with her distinguished father. 

"Jules went to his camp some miles distant, toward the 
border lands, and reflected on what had occurred. He 
well knew that his life and that of his companions, and 
possibly all their property, had been saved through the 
self-sacrifice of a young Indian girl, the granddaughter of 
a Chief. The morning came and it happened that one 



A NIGHT AT RED BUTTES 231 

Paul Des Jardines, who, with a small escort was crossing 
from the Missouri River westward, observed a solitary 
Indian girl standing near their pathway. She was slender 
and had delicate features, with complexion not so dark as 
is common with most of the tribes, and decidedly like 
that of the Mandan tribe. Attracted by the strange 
appearance, Paul addressed the girl in broken French with 
the question 'Are you a Sioux .f*' To the surprise of his 
party she replied, also in broken French, in the affirmative. 
With careful diplomacy she sought to ascertain if those 
rough voyagers were really friendly and trustworthy. 
Becoming satisfied that it would be safe to tell her story, 
she related how, through her effort to save some white 
traders, who were camped near the village, her father's 
band had met with a serious reverse, and she was sus- 
pected by her people of disloyalty, which was the cause of 
a disaster to the Sioux. She now felt compelled to flee 
for her own safety. 

*' 'Do you know who the men were that you were trying 
to save.f^' 

"'No,' she replied, 'except that one of them was 
named Jules.' And in an innocent manner she added, 
'He gave me this ring. If I could find him I know^ he 
would protect me until I could make peace with my tribe, 
for he knows that my father was a French trader. 

'"I, too, am French,' said Paul, 'and we will take you 
to where Jules is in the Crow country. I know him, as 
we came up the Missouri from St. Louis the same time.' 
So Oo-jan-ge, who was hungry and weary, received food 
and a pony to ride, and started with Paul's party to the 
land of the Crows, the enemy of her own people. 

"In the meantime Oo-je-an-a-he-ah and Jules had talked 
together of their future, and the Chief had given his royal 



232 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

sanction to their alliance. On the second evening after 
Jules' arrival at his camp, a broad-shouldered, heavily- 
moustached man entered the camp, and called for Jules 
La Chance. *He is up at the Crow village,' was the 
reply. 

"*Will you send for him to come here at once, and say 
to him that Paul Des Jardines desires to see him on an 
important matter of business.?' 

*'*Well, I'll go for him myself,' said the man, 'but Jules 
is on rather an important mission himself. We think that 
he is arranging to take the daughter of the Chief of the 
Crows, and Father DeSmet, the Jesuit missionary, is in 
the village, and Jules having been brought up a Catholic, 
you know what that means. ' 

*' 'Then rush — it is the more important that you bring 
him here at once. ' 

"In an hour Paul and Jules were sitting on a rock near 
their camp, anjd Paul told of the very young Indian girl, 
the finest looking one he had ever seen, who had been com- 
pelled to fly to the hills because of her having saved Jules 
and his party, an act which also caused a defeat of the 
Sioux, because of information which he (Jules) must have 
given to the Crows. 

"'Well,' said Jules, 'that girl, Oo-jan-ge, is the finest 
I ever saw, but the fact is, I am in a devil of a fix. This 
girl here whom I wish to marry is a jewel, the finest in the 
tribe, and I almost fixed the matter up to marry her before 
I saw Oo-jan-ge. Father DeSmet is in the village and 
Oo-je-an-a-he-ah has a notion that she would like to give 
him something to do that is not common in the tribe, a 
Catholic wedding. My mother was a Cathohc, but I am 
little or nothing in those matters. ' 

" 'Well, ' said Paul, 'Oo-jan-ge is now right over here at 



A NIGHT AT RED BUl^ES 233 

my camp. As we were traveling through the Sioux country 
she put herself under our protection until she could see 
you. She feels that she is regarded as a traitor by her 
tribe, and is a voluntary exile and I am going to see that 
justice is done for her. ' " 

Tom Soon had proceeded thus far in his story, when he 
paused to relight his pipe, but before scratching the match 
he looked directly toward the Warne girls and said, with 
an air of great seriousness, "Now young ladies, under- 
standing that both of these Indian girls loved Jules La 
Chance, and that he was as much attracted to one as to 
the other, what should he do?" The discussion in reply 
would have given Tom time to have lighted a dozen pipes. 
Jules was pledged to the Crow girl, and that was a sacred 
contract said one. Well enough, said another, he gave 
Oo-jan-ge his ring, and if she had not sacrificed herself 
probably Jules might not have lived to marry either girl. 
"Well, tell us quickly how he did finally solve the prob- 
lem," asked another, "Easiest thing in the world," 
replied Tom, — "if you only know how. He married both 
of the girls, of course. There was no other square way of 
doing the business. Of course, Father DeSmet was not 
in it, but the thing was all fixed up in good shape. Jules 
was a square man and wouldn't do a mean trick. You 
have heard the old adage, 'When in Rome do as the Ro- 
mans do,' so when among the Indians, do as the Indians 
do. 

" Hongs-kay-de, the son of a well-known Puncah Chief, 
and who also became *The great Chief,' as his name indi- 
cates, married four girls in one day. They were the 
daughters of as many leading men of his tribe, the ages 
of each being between twelve and fifteen years. Hongs- 
kay-de himself was only eighteen. Of course, he distin- 



234 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

guished himself in this act, but his bravery made him the 
hero of his tribe. The fathers of the four brides were 
present as parties to the transaction. Later Mr. Chou- 
teau of St. Louis, the fur trader, and Major Sanford, the 
agent for the Upper Missouri Indians — in the thirties, 
with Cathn the artist, all were guests at the home of the 
young chief and saw all the brides, who were reported to 
be very happy. The event is a matter of history. The 
Indian girls usually mature and marry young. Among 
the warring tribes so many men are killed in battle that 
some means must be adopted to give all the girls a square 
deal for a home. It is, therefore, common for the chiefs of 
many of the tribes to have more than one wife. A few of 
the ranchmen have two Indian wives. I have told you of 
the incident that you may know more of western life, as 
it sometimes is where there is no law to regulate these 
matters, but I must now say good-night. " And Tom was 
off toward his camp. Having no confirmation of the story 
of Jules' wedding I am unable to vouch for its historic 
accuracy. 

In the morning we made an early start. We were in- 
formed that from Red Buttes a road laid out by J. M. 
Bozeman in 1863 branched off, running through the 
country of the Crow Indians to the Missouri River in 
Montana. Bozeman City received its name in honor of 
that pioneer. In the year preceding that of our visit, 
this so-called "cut-off" was the scene of several serious 
Indian skirmishes, in which General Sully figured con- 
spicuously. In one of the engagements he reported hav- 
ing killed about six hundred Sioux Indians. Our course, 
however, took us along the old Oregon trail toward South 
Pass. Crossing a barren valley of alkaline deserts, we 
reached the soda lake, which is indicated on the charts of 



A NIGHT AT RED BUTTES 235 

the old explorers. There were two double teams there 
from the Bear River Valley, the wagons of which were 
being loaded with the saleratus, which they stated was 
pure. Such employment seemed rather hazardous in 
view of the existing Indian troubles. On former trips, 
they had received thirty-five cents per pound for their loads. 
Professor W. H. Reed of the University of Wyoming 
states to me that the soils in this part of Wyoming are 
mostly clay and contain soda deposited in ancient times, 
in the mesozoic age. The clays are exceedingly rich in 
alkaline salts or the salts of sodium. The melting snows 
and rains penetrate these soils, dissolving the soda, and it 
is washed into the sinks. The waters evaporate leaving 
the soda as a salt in the bed of the lakes. Professor 
Reed, who has thoroughly prospected these lakes, reports 
having found over 12 feet in depth of solid crystals. It 
glistened in the sunlight as if it might be free from foreign 
matter. 

Four miles farther on we crossed the Sweetwater River 
and camped. Near this point is Independence Rock, a 
conspicuous, though not a lofty, granite dome, which has 
long been a landmark on that trail. It is mentioned in the 
chronicles of the first Mormon emigrants, who camped 
there June 21, 1847, at which time the names of some 
persons were found painted upon one of its cliffs. So far 
as I can learn, both from written and oral accounts, it is 
not now known who gave the Rock its name. Mention 
of it by its present name is made in Fremont's reports of 
his explorations, also in the reports of the Reverend Sam- 
uel Parker, who visited it in 1835, Again, in 1836, Parker, 
with his bride, and the Reverend Marcus Whitman and 
his bride, paused here on their remarkable wedding tour, 
which has become historic. These two young brides ap- 



236 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

pear to be the first white women that ever crossed the 
Continent. Independence Rock, therefore, seems to 
have been a halting place for all travelers on the Oregon 
trail, and was known as such before that pathway received 
a name. 



CHAPTER XIX 

Camp Fire Yarns at Three Crossings 

THE Prince of Darkness has been highly honored 
by the trappers in the West in the nomenclature 
of various freaks of nature, in the same manner, 
though perhaps not with the same devout spirit, 
as the names of saints have been perpetuated by the early 
Christian fathers, who established their missions in the 
southwest along the trail of the Spanish conquerors. 

The names applied to objects often afford a clue to the 
character of the men who first applied them. Although 
no signs of human life or habitation were visible along this 
part of the Sweetwater, not only because of hostile Indians 
but chiefly because of predatory outlaws, who were said to 
live in seclusion in these mountains, this location had won 
and maintained a very bad repute. It is, therefore, not 
strange that the remarkable cleft in the vast pile of granite 
through which the rushing torrent of the Sweetwater here 
crowds its way, became known as Devil's Gate. When we 
saw the dark and massive walls of the shadowy opening 
looming upon our right, we were almost prepared to see 
his Satanic Majesty or some of his minions emerge from 
its imposing portals, but as all seemed to be serene, we 
might safely conclude that, 

237 



^sy■ 



238 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

"From his brimstone bed at break of day 
A-walking the Devil is gone, 
To look at his snug, little farm of the World, 
And see how his stock went on — " 

This chasm is about six miles from Independence Rock, 
and there were believed to be many herds of stolen stock 
concealed back in the valleys beyond what would seem to 
be an eastern spur of the Sweetwater range of mountains. 
Ben, Fred, Paul and I undertook an exploration of the 
summit of the mountain and also of the gorge, which we 
entered at the point from which the stream emerges from 
the chasm. We followed up the right bank of the river, 
clambering over the rocky shore, all of which proved rather 
an easy task. From a slight elevation we were able to 
look through the entire extent of the chasm, which ap- 
peared to be about twelve hundred feet in length, and 
varied from four to ten rods in width. In the narrowest 
pass it is compressed within walls hardly more than two 
rods apart. The sides of the cliffs rise to a height of about 
four hundred feet. Why and how the river forced its 
way through this isolated, granite cone, seems a mystery, 
as there is apparently no obstacle to prevent its flowing 
undisturbed round the lower borders of the south slope. 
Some great convulsion of nature must have split the 
mountain through its center and opened this channel. 
The chasm was certainly not formed by erosion, for the 
sides of the cliff expose a face of grey, weather-stained 
granite, with perpendicular seams and scoriated trap rock. 
Reaching the narrowest point in the gorge we found it 
impossible to proceed further, as the swift, foaming waters 
of the rapids swept along the base of the high walls, rush- 
ing over and between the broken masses of rock that had 



CAMP FIRE YARNS AT THREE CROSSINGS 239 

tumbled down, leaving no footing near the banks of the 
stream. 

At this narrow point we discovered four or five groups 
of names painted upon the face of a granite cliff and 
beneath a low, over-hanging rock that protected them 
from the tempest. Among them, neatly printed with blue 
ink, were what appeared to be the names of the members 
of a small party. The last name in this group was Emily 
Wheeler and was followed by the date July, 1864. We 
thought little more of this young explorer until, on the 
following day, while riding a few miles westward beyond 
Devil's Gate, my attention was attracted to a small board 
standing about a fourth of a mile south of the trail and 
apparently placed there to mark the spot. Led by curios- 
ity, I rode through the sage brush and found upon a little 
barren knoll a grave at which the board had been squarely 
set. Upon this marker painted in blue ink, were the fol- 
lowing words: "To the memory of Emily Wheeler, who 
died July 19, 1864 — age 17 years. " It was the same name, 
the same month, and the same neat lettering that we had 
seen on the cliff and it was printed with the same kind of 
ink. On the rocks I remembered having seen below the 
names and also in blue ink the word "Illinois." We, 
therefore, inferred that the party came from that state. 
There were crowded into those few words painted in blue 
the outlines of a sad story. They fairly illustrated an 
experience that befell nearly every party of emigrants, 
who in those days made the long and hazardous trip across 
that country. Some one without doubt knows the rest 
of the story of Emily Wheeler and the different circum- 
stances under which the two inscriptions were written. 
It would appear that her friends were compelled to leave 
her in that far away wilderness, over which the Arapahoe 
hunted his game, where, 



240 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

"No tears embalm her tomb, 

None but the dews by twihght given, 

Where not a sigh disturbs the gloom, 

None but the whispering winds of heaven. ** 

The Sweetwater River becomes smooth and placid 
immediately after it emerges from the Devil's Gate, flow- 
ing on quietly through picturesque scenery. Westward 
from this point the granite ridges rise from the northern 
bank of the river in rugged cliffs. The country in general, 
while very interesting, is barren, the chief vegetation being 
the artemesia or wild sage, which in those parts is found 
growing to a large size, so as to furnish very good fuel. 

On the evening of July 26, 1866, we camped at Three 
Crossings, forty-two miles west of Platte Bridge. Within 
a few rods it was necessary to ford the rapidly running 
Sweetwater three times. The number of these crossings 
doubtless gave rise to the name by which this place seems 
to have been known. It was also recognized as one of the 
most dangerous sections of the western country for peace- 
ful travelers, by reason not only of the frequent attacks of 
Indians, but also of the fact that bands of white thieves 
and robbers had made their headquarters near there some- 
where in the mountains, and were quite as much to be 
feared as were the savages. In 1865 William F. Cody 
(who became known as Buffalo Bill) accepted this precari- 
ous route as a stage driver, and here met with some of the 
experiences that contributed to his fame. 

In the following season, the year of our trip, the stages 
were transferred to the southern route on account of these 
frequent Indian raids and attacks of robbers. On one 
trip, near Three Crossings, Cody sustained an attack of 
several hundred Sioux. The Division Agent sat upon the 



CAMP FIRE YARNS AT THREE CROSSINGS 241 

box of the stage with Cody. There were also seven pas- 
sengers inside the stage, all well armed, as was almost the 
invariable custom. Cody applied the lash to the horses, 
amid a shower of arrows, some piercing the stage, some 
wounding the frightened animals. The agent who sat with 
Cody was also dangerously wounded. The men inside the 
box kept themselves busy with their rifles and revolvers 
from their less exposed position, and as the stage rattled 
over the rocky road brought a few of the savages low and 
held the enemy at bay. It was a running fight in which 
the bleeding and terrified horses fully bore their part. 
Cody was able to reach Three Crossings, where men at the 
station joined in the fight and forced the Indians to fall 
back. I am informed by Colonel Cody that this is the 
event which in the earlier days of his Wild West show he 
endeavored to picture in as realistic a manner as possi- 
ble, with a score of tamed red men with repeating rifles. 

After our supper a few of us forded the river and climbed 
some distance up into the mountain, obtaining a fine view 
of the country and incidentally creating no little diversion 
by rolling huge, detached rocks found on the edge of the 
cliffs in terrific and resistless course down to the valley 
beneath. A young man from Creighton's outfit, no more 
than sixteen years of age, accompanied us, and finally at 
parting announced that he would return by a different 
path from that which we were taking. The days at that 
season of the year being long, we concluded the day's 
journey before sunset. Dropping down to rest, after 
reaching camp, we heard a voice faintly sounding, as if 
from the sky. It came from the youth, who was still far 
up the mountain side and that moment in the full light of 
the setting sun. He was evidently seeking to attract our 
attention to his perilous position, for he was poised at a 



242 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

dizzy height, several hundred feet above us on a very 
sHght projection, where he appeared hke a moving speck. 
From his point of observation he was unable to decide 
upon the safest course for descent. The air being very 
still, his friends from across the river were able to advise 
him as to the difficulties below him. His voice could be 
heard distinctly from the distance. In his descent, his gar- 
ments had already been torn to shreds as the result of 
sliding down the rough rocks, and now, as he informed 
us, the soles of his boots were so slippery that he could 
not retain his footing. The boots were soon rattling down 
the cliffs. Plans were made to secure a rope, which might 
be lowered to him from above, leaving one end fastened 
at a higher point. The night, however, was fast coming. 
Watchers, who could do little for him, expected at almost 
any moment to see his body tumble down the cliffs. The 
youth was favored by the twilight, long after he was lost 
to our sight in the dim shadows. It was some time after 
dark when friends bore the little fellow across the river, 
where others quickly gathered. He was bleeding and 
torn. The flesh on the soles of his feet was worn nearly to 
the bone. Although physically almost a wreck, he had 
such youthful vigor as in a few days put him again on duty. 

When the night closed upon us, our camps were pitched 
along the south bank of the clear Sweetwater River. At 
the west, the campfire of Creigh ton's train lighted up a 
little circle, around which were gathered the drivers, ex- 
cept such as were standing guard for the stock. In our 
camp nearby, the tin plates had been retired and Deacon 
Cobb and some others of the older members of the party 
had gone to bed early to keep warm; for the night, al- 
though bright and beautiful, was cool. 

Having in mind some extravagance in the use of fuel. 



CAMP FIRE YARNS AT THREE CROSSINGS 243 

Ben, Fred, and I had harvested a good supply of sage 
brush, which we turned in at the Warne camp with the 
view of making the evening as cheerful as possible. Every- 
thing there was in readiness, when we chanced to meet 
Tom Soon and succeeded in leading him dow^n to the big 
fire, where welcome was accorded him and the seat of 
honor, on the end of an empty water keg. During a little 
preliminary conversation, and as if settling down to the 
peaceful enjoyment of his comfortable environment, he 
mechanically drew out his tobacco pouch and slowly filled 
his pipe, lighting it with a burning stick found near the 
edge of the fire. 

Mr. Warne was half reclining upon some robes, his three 
daughters nestling very close to him, and his wife, in a 
more dignified position, occupied a camp chair nearby. 
The rest of our party completed the circle. From time to 
time one would tell a story and others would hum a tune, 
while all watched the changing pictures in the fire or a sud- 
den flash of light from the burning sticks which now and 
then, for a moment, illuminated the figures in the circle. 

We were atixious to hear more from Tom, and finally 
when he had concluded a graphic description of a war-dance 
which he had recently witnessed, one of the young ladies 
said, " Mr. Soon, can you tell us why Indian warriors w^ear 
so many feathers and decorate their heads in so grand a 
fashion, while their women dress more simply .^^ Does it 
not seem childish.^" 

"Well," Tom replied, "Indians are creatures who follow 
their tribal fashions, but their fashions don't change very 
much. An incident now comes to my mind that shows 
how the fashions of others sometimes impress the Red 
Man and also an old fellow like me, when those fashions 
are seen for the first time. Two or three years ago, Billy 
Com stock, the scout, and I were instructed to talk with 



244 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

some Ogallalla Chiefs, and arrange to have them visit 
Washington City and see the Great Father, President 
Lincohi. It was beheved that if they could learn from 
personal observation that the country was great and power- 
ful, they would not wish longer to fight the whites. Well, 
we induced them to go, so I went with them and the Indian 
Agent as far as St. Louis. We stayed over night at the 
Planter's House, in that city. I had been out West a long 
time and was almost as green as the Indians were, con- 
cerning the existing fashions and customs of civilized 
people. Well, we got rooms for them, but what does a 
wild Indian know about a bed.^^ Of course the blankets 
were all over the floor and so were the Chiefs. They 
couldn't get into a bed any more than they could use the 
things on the table. They thought the pillows were the 
funniest things they ever saw. One of the Indians was 
astonished on approaching a big looking glass. He 
thought he saw a warrior that he had never seen before 
coming right at him. But what do you think they did 
when they saw the women on the street.^ It was about 
that time when women began to wear big dresses and 
hooped skirts. I had never myself seen such dresses until 
then. They didn't wear them when I was a boy. The 
Indians were starting up the sidewalk through the crowd, 
in a sort of single file as they generally do, and three fine 
women came along wearing those big dresses and grand 
bonnets on their heads. Of course the women didn't 
realize how strange they appeared to us, but they were 
interested in the Indians and stopped to look at the Chiefs 
who wore blankets and big feathers. The Indians were 
also interested in the women, and they stopped in front of 
the ladies, who wore skirts almost big enough for tents, 
and strange feathers in their bonnets. For a minute 
both parties looked at each other's toggery. 



CAMP FIRE YARNS AT THREE CROSSINGS 245 

"The Indians were astonished to see the women so big 
around and wearing such gorgeous things on their heads. 
Of course the ladies quickly looked the Indians all over 
at a glance, just as they would at any curious thing in a 
show, and as they have a right to, and they especially 
looked at the feathers on the Indians' heads. At the same 
time the Chiefs, who were equally interested in the ladies' 
dresses, almost surrounded the women, before they realized 
the situation. You know that an Indian feels that it is 
proper to examine carefully anything that interests him. 
The Indians do that w^hen they come into our cabins, in 
fact, it is their custom, so they proceeded at once to examine 
the ladies' wardrobe very carefully, before the ladies 
realized that they themselves were also objects of interest; 
but the Indians did not go very far in their investigation, 
for the women gave a yell loud enough for any Sioux and 
broke into a run. Some of the white people's fashions 
seem to be as ridiculous to the wild Indian as theirs are to 
you, and may be more so, for you see pictures of other 
people, and the Indians do not." 

*'That's all right, Tom," said Mr. Warne, "fashion is 
sometimes only a freak." 

An old fellow with a big red mustache, whose name I 
failed to obtain, but who was addressed as Conk, standing 
somewhat in the background, overheard Tom's story. At 
its conclusion, he broke in with a remark — "Say, Tom, 
don't you remember about that Assiniboine Wi-jun-jun, 
the son of the Chief, who went to Washington .f*" 

"Yes, of course I do, " was the reply, "but let's have it. " 

We all called for the story, and as nearly as can be given 
from memoranda that I took at the time, his talk ran like 
this: 

" I ain't much on telling stories, " (said the trapper) "but 



246 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

some of these young Indian bucks are about as much 
dandies as any of the white folks. You know Major 
Sanford was the Indian Agent for the Assiniboine tribe, 
and as a lot of chiefs from other tribes were going down 
the Missouri to go to see the President in Washington, he 
went for Wi-jun-jun, because he was tall and wore more 
feathers and put on more d — d style with his people 
than any other Injun on the river. '* 

"Don't swear, Conk," interjected Tom. 

"Excuse me, ladies, — but as I was saying, he would go 
around on the steamboat when he was going down the 
river, so the people and the other Injuns would look at him 
just as fine dressed white men do when they think they 
are better than common folks. But he was a d — d 
good fighter! Excuse my swearing, ladies. 

"Well, he got to Washington with the rest of 'em and 
thought he was a devil of a fellow, when everybody, men 
and women, looked at him, — more'n they did at the rest 
of 'em. He and the rest of 'em were took aroun' to see the 
ships and the cannon and they went to the theatre, and he 
sot where everybody could see him. They knew the In- 
juns were going to be there, but that d — d fool — excuse 
my swearin,' ladies — that d — d fool thought he was a devil 
of a fellow. He felt bigger than ever when they wanted 
his clothes and feathers to hang up in some show place 
there, so he let 'em have 'em in trade for some American 
soldiers' clothes made for a general, — and the Agent 
agreed to let him wear his Injun clothes until he got back 
as far as St. Louis. 

"They boarded the first steamboat that Mr. Chouteau 
sent up the river that spring, and Sanford went with 'em 
and took Wi-jun-jun into his room on the boat, and helped 
him change his clothes, for how in hell — excuse my swear- 



CAMP FIRE YARNS AT THREE CROSSINGS 247 

ing, ladies — could an Injun get into a general's clothes, 
and get 'em on right? 

"After a while when he came out on deck, he had on a 
blue broadcloth general's coat, with high collar and with 
gilt epaulets on the shoulders, and a tall beaver hat. He 
had on a belt with a big sword, and he had on long-top 
high-heeled boots. He had learned on this trip to smoke 
cigars, and Sanford brought him out and was as solemn as 
a funeral, and Wi-jun-jun was smoking a cigar, and 
marched out on deck with all that toggery on. The sword 
got between his legs and his hat was on the back of his head 
and his long black hair hung down behind. There wasn't 
only a few white passengers on the steamboat and they 
got tired of him pretty soon, but when they all got to the 
Yellowstone, of course. Major Sanford and his Injuns got 
off at their town, and that cuss — excuse my swearing, 
ladies — that d — d cuss walked up through their village and 
for awhile wouldn't look at any of 'em — even his wife. 
But Sanford had give him two bottles of whiskey, and they 
both stuck oUt of his split- tail coat pockets, and pretty 
soon he commenced on the whiskey. The next day the 
sleeves of his coat were on his wife's legs for leggins, which 
she thought was pretty fine, and the gold lace of his clothes 
were on women in the tribe, and the epaulet things were 
in their hair, and the dandy purty soon hadn't a d — d thing 
left — excuse my swearing, ladies — but I hear'n you talking 
about how feathers looked to you on an Injun and I thought 
of that d — d Assinboine — excuse my swearing, ladies; 
I've got so use to it out here I can't help it. The thing is, 
he had shown himself off in soldiers' clothes and don't 
you see, ladies, that an Injun must wear Injuns' clothes 
or he looks like — well, I came purty near swearing, — but 
Injun clothes and feathers are all right for Injuns, but 
ain't worth a damn for white people. " 



^48 THE AWAKENING OP THE DESERT 

The trapper bit a big piece from his plug of tobacco, 
while he received favorable expressions concerning the 
history, which he had given and yet — 

Jack was embarrassed — never hero more- 



And as he knew not what to say — he swore. " 

Many years after our party camped near Red Buttes, 
the writer discovered in the second volume of Elliot Coues' 
notes on Forty Years a Fur Trader, a brief description 
of the visit of Wi-jun-jun to Washington and the gift to 
him of the general's outfit. The portrait of the warrior- 
dude is preserved in the Catlin collection. 

The mild profanity with which the tale was decorated 
can hardly be omitted without robbing it of its peculiar 
western flavor. Dan Trippe, who had been listening, 
finally said, "Mr. Soon, you referred a moment ago to Billy 
Comstock. Some of us also knew him very well. A few 
years ago Comstock was well known in Colorado. " 

"He was," replied Tom, "and he helped might'ly in 
that Sand Creek affair. Of course, we know him as Buffalo 
Bill." 

Tom was asked to tell about that fight. "I know all 
about it, " he replied, "but I don't know as it's right to tell 
the women about these Indian scalpings." Tom was 
assured that when women were out where things were 
going on, they were no more nervous than men were. They 
all had guns and ought to know the true condition of 
things. 

"All right," said Tom. "Well, it was like this. A 
year ago last August the Indians began a series of raids, 
going for everything and everybody along the stage route 
from Julesburg east. I think they cleaned out every ranch 



CAMP FIRE YARNS AT THREE CROSSINGS 249 

and attacked every train and stage that passed in that 
two hundred and fifty or three hundred miles. More than 
forty people were killed by them. The most severe fight 
was at Liberty Farm, east of Fort Kearney near where you 
crossed the Little Blue River. There was a small train of 
wagons loaded with goods for George Tritch of Denver. 
The entire party of whites were killed, including a stage 
driver and the station keeper, and there was a young 
woman there named Mrs. Eubanks, and her child, whom 
they did not then kill, and the Indians run them off, and 
that is really what brought on the Sand Creek Battle. 
The Indians were Arapahoes. The people of Denver were 
greatly excited when the news reached there. Before his 
train was attacked Tritch had heard of the troubles, and 
having so many valuable goods coming along that line he 
talked with Colonel Chivington, and they arranged with 
Billy Comstock and Oliver Wiggins to go out at once, and 
ascertain where the Indians were, and what they were then 
planning to do. Billy went down the Republican River 
and Wiggins went down the Platte. They were good 
scouts and spoke Arapahoe well. Billy had been inter- 
preter for the government several times. He knew many 
of the Chiefs. Billy's route was away from the line of 
travel. He overtook a large party of Arapahoes quite a 
way down the Republican, and after he had watched their 
movements for awhile, he run up to the Platte and re- 
ported, and then he went back and had a talk with the 
Indians. He kept watch on that band, but it was another 
party of Indians who made the raid that I have told of. 
After the Liberty Farm massacre, Comstock and Wiggins 
with a few soldiers from the Plum Creek Station started 
out and followed the Indians southward and overtook 
them. They saw the young woman riding behind Chief 



250 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

Two Face, and then Billy and his soldiers had a fight with 
the Indians, but the soldiers were greatly outnumbered and 
lost most of their horses. 

*' In November, Colonel Chivington started out with his 
forces and after one long night march, the scouts led them 
to Sand Creek, where they surrounded the Indian village 
and then the fight was on. It was a slaughter. Chiving- 
ton said to his soldiers, *Nits make lice,' which meant 
that it was a battle to the finish, and that they need not 
stop with the old Indians; women and children were to be 
killed as well. 

**Some people criticized Colonel Chivington very bitter- 
ly, declaring that this warfare was brutal and uncivilized, 
but the people of Denver gave him a gold mounted rifle as 
a token of their good will. The Chief and three or four 
others escaped in the night with Mrs. Eubanks and they 
were caught later and strung up. The queerest thing 
about the hanging was that the Colonel of the troops who 
caught the Chiefs telegraphed to General Connor, in com- 
mand of the department, that he had the devils in chains. 
General Connor replied, 'Then hang them in chains,' 
and it was done mighty quick. In a little time the Colonel 
received another message from General Connor, instruct- 
ing him to bring the scoundrels to Julesburg, because he 
had decided to give them a trial. The Colonel telegraphed 
back to the effect that he 'obeyed his first message before 
he received the second.'" 

When Tom had finished this recital, the camp fires had 
nearly all gone out on the shore of the river, and the bright 
moon was lighting up the southern slopes of the Sweet- 
water Mountains. Through the stillness of the night was 
heard the occasional bark of a few coyotes and its echo 
reflected from the adjacent mountain-side. Our party 



CAMP FIRE YARNS AT THREE CROSSINGS 251 

separated and slowly wandered along the river to their 
respective camps. The manner in which Cody wrested 
from Comstock the sobriquet Buffalo Bill, has been ex- 
plained in another chapter. 



CHAPTER XX 

A Spectacular Buffalo Chase 

EXCEPT perhaps a sudden view of the blue 
waters of the broad ocean, few things in nature 
are more inspiring to the pilgrim who has 
plodded his way across our barren plains than 
is the first glimpse of some towering peaks of the Rocky 
Mountains. Riding my horse in advance of the train, 
which on an exceedingly hot July day was toiling up a 
long and difficult sandy grade, I reached a flat summit 
from which there suddenly and unexpectedly burst upon 
my view the entire panorama of the lofty peaks of the 
Wind River range, from Fremont Peak to South Pass. 
They were "crowned with a diadem of snow," but were 
not "in a robe of clouds," for not a speck of mist was 
visible in any direction. The mountains in all their detail 
stood out against the blue sky with wonderful clearness and 
it seemed as if they were not ten miles away. I may have 
been unduly excited, but in calling to those below me, who 
were next in advance, I shouted that the snow mountains 
were in sight. One after another of the party soon arrived 
at the summit, and being considerably heated after the 
climb they had made under the sharp rays of the sun, 
some of the men insisted that the brilliant white on the 
distant peaks was not snow. As one driver put it, "Do 
you think I'm a fool, to think that snow wouldn't melt in 

252 



A SPECTACULAR BUFFALO CHASE 253 

hot weather like this?" This man from the prairie did 
not appreciate the towering height of those far away 
peaks. On the following morning we were informed that 
they were still thirty miles away, and after two more days 
of travel, we were told that even then Fremont Peak was 
nearly one hundred miles beyond us. Fred accordingly 
declared that we should never reach it unless we turned 
back in the other direction, because the longer we traveled 
toward it, the further it was away. 

The day after we obtained our first view of Fremont 
Peak, we knew that we were near a certain strange freak 
of nature known as Ice Springs. Its location is carefully 
noted on the old charts, and it is described in the reports 
of numerous explorers and travelers. In every descrip- 
tion of the springs that I had read or heard, it was stated 
that at any time of the year, even in the late summer, a 
solid mass of ice could be found within a foot of the sur- 
face. We determined to see this remarkable phenomenon. 
The springs lie near the foothill on the edge of a somewhat 
extensive area of swampy ground from which no water 
issues on the surface. Digging down a spade's depth we 
reached the white crystal and found it to be cold enough to 
answer all requirements, but it was so hard and the super- 
imposed mud was so deep, that it seemed hardly worth 
the effort to obtain a block under such difficulties. We 
reported to our friends as had been done to us by former 
travelers that solid ice was there, and endeavored to ex- 
plain to each other by what processes ice could be formed 
on an open plain during hot summer days, but never 
arrived at a satisfactory solution of the problem. Pro- 
fessor W. H. Reed, of the University of Wyoming, has 
finally come to my assistance and exploded the '*ice" 
theory in toto. Having learned of the generally accepted 



254 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

belief that natural ice is formed in those springs, he made 
the matter the subject of personal investigation and in- 
forms me that "the springs show what appears to be ice, 
but what in reality is soda and gypsum. The so-called 
ice springs yield a bitter water; this is because of the dis- 
solving of the gypsum, one of the lime deposits." The 
springs like many frauds in other lands are very interesting 
to the deluded seeker of curiosities and marvels, but it 
causes a shock to learn that this midsummer ice is a 
jBction. The gypsum resembles soda and also salt and 
ice. And thus is our popular delusion dispelled! 

A few rods west of the springs we observed two or three 
small ponds of water, which were exceedingly bitter to 
the taste. The surrounding soil was covered thickly with 
a saline efflorescence. Beyond the springs, we reached 
a creek that was strongly impregnated with sulphur. 
On the dry plain adjacent I discovered the finest specimens 
of petrifaction I have ever seen. They were evidently 
sections of red cedar and were nearly transparent. Here 
and there lying upon the ground were carcasses of buffaloes, 
which, though they had doubtless lain there for many 
weeks under the direct rays of a midsummer sun, gave no 
evidence of decomposition, but such portions as had not 
been removed by the wolves were preserved and dried 
solid in the pure air, in which there were no germs of decay. 
Availing themselves of this property, the Indians and 
trappers preserve meat by hanging it up to dry in the sun. 

During the day, members of the party despatched an 
antelope, two jack rabbits, and a few healthy rattle- 
snakes ; and they reported that they saw Indians sneaking 
up a distant ravine. 

Truly interesting was this land of wonders, which we are 
hardly justified in calling "Wyoming" in this description. 



A SPECTACULAR BUFFALO CHASE 255 

because there was no territory having that name until 1886. 
One of those bright days, when the train had ' laid by ' 
to give the stock a rest, Ben and I strolled out on foot for a 
hunt. After wandering a few hours over treeless hills and 
into dry valleys, we began to suffer severely from thirst. 
We changed our course from time to time, allured by 
indications of any distant ravine along the bottom 
of which might creep a rivulet. We were invariably 
disappointed. As our travel had at all times carried us 
away from the trail, we soon realized that many hours 
must pass before we could again find relief in our camp. 
One little diversion temporarily turned our thoughts from 
our personal discomforts. We were standing above a 
narrow ravine counseling together as to our future course 
when we heard the report of a rifle shot coming from an 
unseen point up the valley, possibly a mile distant. We 
were not previously aware of the presence of any other 
person in that vicinity nor did we learn who fired the shot. 
It was evidently directed toward a herd of antelopes, for 
in a few seconds about a dozen of the graceful beasts came 
sweeping toward us along the bottom of the ravine. I 
had seen many herds of antelopes skimming over the 
plains, usually in the distance, but never before nor since 
that time have I beheld such poetry of motion or such re- 
markable speed in an animal as was exhibited by those 
frightened creatures. Along the valley were numerous 
dense clumps of sage brush six or seven feet in height and 
in some cases covering rather a large area. These ob- 
stacles did not seem to retard the flight of the airy crea- 
tures in the slightest degree. Bunched closely together, 
the antelopes fairly sailed over one obstruction after an- 
other with wonderful ease and grace, never touching a 
twig and always alighting upon all four feet; and again 



256 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

springing from all fours they bounded swiftly onward, 
glancing like arrows over the next patch of sage brush. 
One quick and seemingly light touch now and then upon 
the earth was all that was needed to send them onward. 
As they approached the point where we stood, each of us 
fired a shot at them, but we were too slow for their move- 
ments. Much has been written concerning the gazelle, 
the springbok, the chamois, and other congeners of this 
beautiful animal, but there appears to be no definite 
information concerning the maximum speed of the antelope 
of out plains, which is known by zoologists as the prong- 
horn antelope. The opportunity was afforded us to wit- 
ness from a favorable position but a few rods distant a 
wonderful burst of speed, which in our judgment would 
have left the swiftest race horse quickly out of sight. 
When this swiftly moving picture had vanished we should- 
ered our rifles for the long tramp toward the train. 

Hardly a day had passed during the few preceding 
weeks in which we had not seen herds of antelopes and 
black-tailed deer, but our approach toward antelopes was 
usually discovered by them very quickly and a few rapid 
bounds put them beyond reach of our rifles, where they 
would sometimes suddenly turn, and with long, sleek ears 
tipped forward and large eyes turned toward the source of 
danger often remain to watch the closer approach of the 
hunter. Paul Beemer was our most accompHshed sports- 
man and his patience was occasionally rewarded. 

When we started upon our return from the long wander- 
ings of the day to which I have referred, we realized that a 
drink of cool water would have been more welcome than an 
antelope would have been. As our course outward had been 
tortuous, without any objective point in view, and had 
carried us possibly eight miles from camp, our knowledge 



A SPECTACULAR BUFFALO CHASE 257 

of plainscraft was fully tested, for the camp was pitched 
in a little valley invisible from any point forty rods distant. 
Many of the ravines were dry runs, down which the water 
evidently had flowed in time of storms, but in the sides of 
many of them were exposed strata of alkali several feet in 
thickness. We finally observed in the distance the glisten- 
ing of water in a broad, sandy valley and changed our 
course to reach it. It proved to be one of those remarkable 
water courses common in parts of that country, where a 
stream filters along beneath the dry quicksand and here 
and there appears for a short distance at the surface, but 
it would have been impossible to dip the tiniest cup of 
water from it, for the sand instantly refilled the slightest 
depression made in it. A strainer of fine cloth might 
possibly have prevented one from drinking sand. There 
was, indeed, an opportunity to moisten our lips, but wet 
sand is an unsatisfactory beverage at best. The water 
was found to be strongly alkaline, therefore unfit to quench 
thirst — an unpleasant disappointment on a hot day in the 
midst of a hot, arid plain. 

"Traverse the desert, and then ye can tell 
What treasures exist in the cold, deep well. 
Sink in despair on the red, parched earth, 
And then we may reckon what water is worth. " 

This water famine of only eight or nine hours was com- 
paratively a small matter, but it impressed us with the 
fact of our constant dependence upon the simple things of 
life. When we had found our camp and satisfied our 
thirst from the old water keg we discovered with pleasure 
that Paul, who went out as usual alone on horseback, had 



258 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

brought in an antelope, which, of course, furnished us 
steak for supper. 

Paul's success, however, was eclipsed on the following 
day. It was July 29th. Driving Pete's fine four-horse 
team in advance of the train, and while passing along the 
summit of an elevated ridge commanding an extended 
view over a broad valley on our left, I discovered a dark, 
moving object three or four miles distant, toward the 
furthest limit of that depression. The field-glass disclosed 
the fact that it was a solitary buffalo. The train was 
halted. A Ithough tens of thousands of these magnificent 
animals were at close range later on my return, this was 
the first buffalo thus far seen on our trip that was near 
enough to justify the hunt. Fresh meat was needed, and 
every one was eager for any excitement. It was therefore 
determined that Ben, Fred, and Mr. Alsop, the Captain 
of Creighton's train, should enter the chase. Hasty 
preparations to that end were accordingly made. 

Intense excitement was manifested not only by the 
spectators but by our chosen representatives while the 
trio belted their waist§, tightened their saddle girths, ex- 
amined their fire-arms, discarded their waistcoats, slung 
aside their hats, and otherwise prepared for the coming 
encounter — in all of which they received willing assistance. 
At the last moment Dan Trippe, the Nestor of our group on 
all such occasions, stood beside his wagon with uncovered 
head and in an earnest manner from his unfailing knowl- 
edge gave the boys some parting words of advice and 
admonition. He briefly instructed them in the habits of 
the American Bison, (Bos Americanus) its mode of defense 
and its sudden attacks. He carefully informed them in 
what part of the body the leaden missile would be most 
likely to prove effective and where it would strike as 



A SPECTACULAR BUFFALO CHASE 259 

harmlessly as a feather. Thus duly prepared for the chase, 
the boys, as had been arranged, rode rapidly round the 
valley to the right. Captain Alsop turned to the left and 
soon disappeared from sight. The plan agreed upon was to 
out-flank the buffalo from both sides and start the chase 
toward the train. Nothing could have been planned to 
produce a more spectacular contest. The affair was to 
occur in a magnificent natural amphitheater the floor of 
which was comparatively level, and the spectators occupied 
a remarkably favorable position upon the elevated ridge 
at one end of the ellipse, commanding a fine view of the 
entire field. Stretched along in the distance at our right 
were the snow-clad peaks of the Wind River Range. 
In scenic effect it was hardly inferior to the site of the 
amphitheater in Taormina, where Mount Etna at the 
south and the Snow Mountains across the straits of Messina 
once added to the interest of the sports in the arena. All 
agreed that such opportunities were very uncommon. In 
about thirty minutes nearly every watcher at the same 
moment observed the boys emerging from a ravine along 
which they had entered the vallej'^ and about one-third of 
a mile beyond their game. Every spectator was as intent 
on witnessing what was to follow as if in the ring at a bull 
fight in Old Madrid. At the same moment the buffalo 
also caught his first glimpse of his pursuers. Then fol- 
lowed a demonstration which some of the older hunters 
declared that they had never before mtnessed. The 
animal, which proved to be an unusually large bull buffalo, 
turned toward the horsemen and as if in defiance gave an 
angry shake of his massive head; then dropping upon the 
ground rolled entirely over three times as if to warm him- 
self to the approaching combat, and all as nimbly as would 
a kitten and with a celerity of movement marvellous in so 



260 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

large an animal. With one angry bellow he started toward 
the hills. At that moment Captain Alsop rode rapidly 
into the arena and would soon have met the bull but the 
animal instantly turned directly toward the train and the 
chase was on. For about two miles the boys, yelling like 
Cheyenne Indians, and with hair flying in the wind, 
pursued the monster, now and then sending a bullet in 
advance from their repeating rifles. Though directed 
somewhat at random, some of the shots took effect. The 
animal's big red tongue, covered with foam, soon began to 
protrude from the mass of shaggy hair, which enveloped 
the bison's head. His speed slackened, and soon two of 
the riders were at his side. Here for convenience the boys 
used their Colt's revolvers. The animal gave a desperate 
and vicious plunge at one of the riders, fell upon his knees, 
and rolled heavily upon the ground. Prolonged cheers 
arose from the excited spectators. A few of us ran out to 
inspect the game and congratulate the sportsmen. A 
bullet from Ben's rifle had reached the animal's heart, but 
to our surprise we found fragments of two bullets which 
had struck his head, but had not penetrated through the 
shaggy mass of hair. Each bullet had separated into 
fragments of lead, appearing as if melted by the impact 
against the cushion of hair, which was filled with sand. 
When the animal was turned upon his back, his fore hoofs 
rose to a height of more than six feet. About four hundred 
pounds of meat was cut (chiefly from the hump, which is 
the choicest part of the animal) and was taken in a wagon 
to camp. Deacon Cobb and Noah Gillespie did not come 
down to greet the hunters, therefore Ben and Fred prac- 
ticed upon them a bit of deception. They stained the 
nostrils of their horses with the fresh blood of the victim 
of the chase, and then the weary animals were led to camp. 



A SPECTACULAR BUFFALO CHASE 261 

which it was necessary to pitch nearby on account of the 
delay. Both the Deacon and Noah were careful observers 
of horses, and a glance at the returning steeds revealed 
evidence of severe treatment. The blood, coming appar- 
ently from the nostrils, was, however, something extra- 
ordinary. Noah called our attention to the proofs of 
over-driving, which he regarded as criminal. Deacon 
Cobb was summoned and with Noah gave the animals a 
careful inspection. A driver from the big train was also 
brought in and the limbs of the horses were examined, the 
chest was tested, and the driver gave it as his expert 
opinion that some blood vessel had "busted," an opinion 
in which Noah seemed to concur. 

Noah was kept in ignorance of the deception practiced, 
and so seriously did he regard the offense that Dan said, 
"When Noah passes to the other side he will immediately 
ask to see the books and ascertain how the crime in question 
had been passed upon by the higher courts." Neither 
Fred nor Ben was ever disposed to be irreverent, but Fred 
added that if Noah should ever be permitted to see the 
books he would doubtless find that judgment was entered 
with a full knowledge of the facts in the case, a plan not 
always adopted in decisions rendered on the plains. 

Since leaving the Missouri River, each day had seen us 
at a little higher altitude than that of the preceding day. 
The nights were chill, the cold being doubtless intensified 
somewhat by proximity of the snowy range. A trapper 
stated that it had snowed daily on the East slope from the 
7th to the 14th of July. On the 30th of the month we 
suddenly encountered immense swarms of Rocky Mountain 
locusts, with which for two days we were surrounded. 
All of them were moving eastward, and many of them, 
sailing along blindly, struck us squarely in the face. 



262 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

Some of the horses with the train became affected by 
drinking water that was strongly impregnated with alkah. 
The remedy adopted was to force down the animal's 
throat a piece of fat bacon; the stomach, becoming a sort 
of chemical laboratory, converted the bacon and alkali 
into soap, which was considered less harmful than pure 
soda. 

On the night before reaching the pass, the peaks of the 
Wind River Range rose grandly in the northwest. Their 
dip is toward the west. The eastern faces are abrupt and 
the peaks are sharp, appearing from the south as if the 
strata on that slope had been rent asunder and the edge to 
the west of the fissure had been lifted toward the sky, 
leaving the ragged fault exposed toward the east, with 
the surface sloping more gradually toward the west. A 
magnificent range, and a most inspiring mountain view to 
us camping in sight of the pass. 

It had been half a century since Robert Stuart and his 
party, in carrying despatches to John Jacob Astor, dis- 
covered this pass after suffering great privations. From 
the distance it seemed now as bleak and desolate as it ever 
could have been. The night being cold with a heavy 
frost, we secured enough sage brush for a moderate camp 
fire. As we were quietly warming ourselves by the flick- 
ering blaze, a voice from outside the circle broke in unex- 
pectedly with the words, "I hear'n your boy Fred say after 
they killed the buffalo and they were twittin' him about 
bustin' his horse's blood-vessels that mebbe they wanted 
to hang him before they knowed much about it. " After 
this introduction the speaker roared out with a hearty 
laugh. 

"Well, what were you going to say about it?" said Dan. 

"Well, I'll tell you," he replied. "It's like a case down 



A SPECTACULAR BUFFALO CHASE 263 

on Poison Spider Creek. There was some fellows down 
there that they thought were stealin' horses. A train was 
coming along there and the captain of it lost two horses 
and he jest made up his mind who got 'em, and there 
wasn't no guessing about it neither, so he and his crowd 
made up their minds that they was the law. They went 
down to the fellow's camp and before the thieves could get 
out their guns the train men got 'em tight and run 'em off 
and got 'em up the creek where there was a tree, and hung 
'em both. After awhile one of the herders found the 
horses off in the hills and brought 'em in and they were 
sure they hadn't been run off by the fellows either. Then 
they found that one of the fellows had a wife that they 
hadn't known about, and that she had heard that her man 
had been hung for stealing horses that he hadn't stole at 
all, so the captain who hung the fellows went over to 
where the woman was to fix things right with her and 
make her feel better. They didn't want to do a dirty 
trick." 

"You mean," said Dan, "that they went to sympathize 
with the widow" and give her consolation." 

"Yes, that's it. And the captain said to her, 'Missis, 
it is our mistake, and the joke is on us.' They found the 
woman couldn't take a joke, but she went for her gun and 
put a bullet in the captain. Now, I thought that this 
fellow that you call Noah oughtn't to kill these boys for 
hurting the horses in that chase until he knows the horses 
are hurt. I guess the joke is on Noah. " Then he laughed 
a big "ha! ha!" at the same time punching a nearby 
driver in the ribs. "Noah, Noah," he pronounced, in a 
slow, drawling tone as he moved onward, "seems to me 
I've heard of him before." 

"That's a good-natured fellow," said Tom, as he drifted 



^64 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

up toward the little fire, "and the story he told is pretty 
nearly true, but it does not match the experiences of Jack 
Slade, who managed the stage route this side of Julesburg. " 

"We have heard so much of Slade," said Ben, "that we 
should like to know more about him. " 

"Oh! everybody in this country knows about Slade. 
There are said to be fully a hundred graves near Julesburg 
in which are buried the worst characters in the country, 
and Jack killed a great many of them. Jules Reni for 
whom Julesburg was named, was one of his first victims. 
Reni was as hard a character as Slade. The fact is that 
along this road there have been here and there for several 
years the headquarters of desperadoes who are worse than 
the Indians. The story which Bob has told you concern- 
ing the horse thief's wife reminds me of an experience with 
Jack Slade's wife. Jack had become a terror to the 
country, and everybody was afraid of him because he was 
a quick, dead shot, and his revolver was his usual argument 
in case of any difference. A lot of men finally laid for 
Jack and decided to lynch him. Watching patiently for 
their opportunity, they caught him asleep and secured his 
guns. Instead of stringing him up at once, they locked 
him up in a log room and stood guard around it until they 
could bring others to participate in the ceremonies. Jack 
assumed that everything was all up with him, so he urged 
that they send for his wife that he might see her once more 
and make his dying confessions. In the goodness of their 
hearts this one last wish was granted, for they were satis- 
fied that Jack would die game. He was a bold and brave 
though a bad man in life, and would surely be square in 
his last hour. The wife was notified and coming quickly, 
mounted upon a fine horse, without being searched she 
was admitted to the room where Jack was confined. 



A SPECTACULAH BUFFALO CHASE ^65 

Before the door had been closed she whipped out revolvers 
for two, and defying the crowd the woman marched Slade 
to the horse she had brought, upon which both of them 
quickly mounted, keeping their guns at all times leveled 
with the threat that the first one of his captors that moved 
was a dead man. The business was done so quickly that 
Slade and his helpmate were soon out of reach. The party 
was afraid of Slade with a gun. This occurred on the 
Rocky Ridge division which you came over and where 
the stages ran last year until they were taken off on account 
of the Indian troubles. Jack for a time had charge of 
that run for the Overland. He came from Clinton County, 
Illinois. " 

Noah had been poking the sage brush fire into renewed 
life; then crossing his hands behind his coat tails and 
backing close to the reviving embers he said, "That story 
that Bob told a few minutes ago brings to mind the re- 
mark which some of us heard made by one of that gang 
back on the road who sold to Dan the corn, which was to 
be delivered to him on arrival at Julesburg. I guess some 
of you know that Dan isn't much afraid of anybody, so 
when he found that the rascals were trying to swindle him 
on the corn, Dan, holding a club in his hand said to their 
boss, 'You are a horse thief and a liar.' 'Well,' said 
the fellow, 'may be that's all right, but do you know 
anything against my reputation for honesty?' " 

"Our party remembers that very well," said Fred. 
"Dan told the truth and got his corn. " 

A number of incidents of border life were related by the 
little fire, but the night was cold and the ground was 
freezing. Taking our army overcoats and blankets, Paul 
and I found a protected spot and retired beneath the open 
sky. If such a brilliant starlight night should come but 



266 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

once in one's life, it would thenceforth be a matter of 
constant remembrance as a scene of beauty and grandeur. 
Until the morning sun shone in our faces, we slept undis- 
turbed. 



CHAPTER XXI 

The Parting of the Ways 

THE picturesque red-sandstone cliffs of Red 
Buttes and the granite-ribbed range of the 
Sweetwater Mountains were left behind us. 
Slowly our train climbed up the gentle grade to 
South Pass. But this thoroughfare over the backbone of 
the continent proved to be a disappointment, as it failed 
to present the striking characteristics of a mountain pass. 
In one respect, at least, its top is not unlike the North 
Pole, for it is admitted by Arctic explorers (Cook and Peary 
of course, always excepted) that they find it impossible 
to locate the Boreal end of the earth with exactness. 
Similarly the transient through South Pass is unable to 
determine within several miles where his pathway is 
actually at its highest point. An expansive though shal- 
low depression is found where the summit ought to be, 
both east and west of which, as we follow the trail, lies a 
broad, level plateau, and it would be impossible without 
an instrument to ascertain which side is the higher. On 
both sides the approaches to the Pass are very easy grades, 
each merging almost imperceptibly into the table land of 
the broad summit. To the south, along this great di\nde, 
the surface rises step by step and many miles further 
away in the distance it continues on in smoothly rounded 
mountain billows. To the north the ascent is also gradual, 
until twenty -five miles from the trail there rises the base 

267 



268 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

of Atlantic Peak, which is the great southern spur of the 
bold and rugged Wind River Range. From the slopes of 
this range issue the remotest tributaries of the Sweetwater 
River, the stream we had been following. We saw not 
even a rivulet upon the highland known as South Pass, 
the flow of which would mark the watershed. Finally we 
reached Pacific Spring, a diminutive fountain whence a 
scanty flow of water, oozing from the mud, crept along 
for a time slowly to the westward. We then knew that we 
had crossed the great Continental Divide. Here we 
pitched our tent, and further down the brook the other 
outfits camped. Although the altitude is but seventy-six 
hundred feet, the ground froze at night. Some of the 
snow from the recent storm, which was said to have lain 
fourteen inches in depth a few days before, still remained 
on all the lands above the pass. The comitry for miles 
around was bleak and destitute even of sage bush. From 
a small cedar log which we had transported a long distance 
to meet such an emergency, we chipped a few splinters to 
build our fire. Each member of our party being provided 
with a soldier's overcoat, we wrapped ourselves in those 
garments and were soon to be found standing, very close 
together around the little blaze. A blue veil of smoke 
rose also from similar fires at each of the other camps, 
bearing through the clear air the sweet incense of burning 
cedar, which was quickly followed by the appetizing 
fragrance of coffee and bacon. 

We were to make a long drive on the following day, for 
we had learned that after leaving the Pacific Spring no 
water would be found on our course within a distance of 
twenty-eight miles. As a start was to be made at three 
o'clock in the morning, the boys began early to pull out 
their blankets and find a warm spot for the night. But 



THE PARTING OF THE WAYS 269 

where is the man with soul so dead, so devoid of all appre- 
ciation of nature when she is in one of her rarest moods, 
who would not wish to watch a remarkable sunset? The 
sun was sinking behind the mountains of the Bear River 
Range which, white with the recent snows and extending 
from north to south, lay one hundred and fifty miles 
distant to the westward. Far, far away to the south and 
extending from east to west, rose the white-topped Uinta 
Range, which south of us seemed to merge into the high 
lands of the great divide, crossed by the pass and extending 
westward until it closed in with the western range, forming 
the base of an immense triangle of mountains, the eastern 
side of which was the Continental Divide, upon which we 
stood. Extending northward from our camp, this dividing 
ridge rises gradually until it meets the foothills of what 
is now known as Atlantic Peak, which is the southern 
buttress of the lofty Wind River Range and is twenty-five 
miles away. Continuing northward, beyond two high 
intervening summits, this range culminates in Fremont 
Peak, the monarch of that range, and, as later surveys 
show, still one hundred miles from our trail. The 
apex of this triangle of mountains lies north of Fremont 
Peak, beyond which rise the grand Tetons, one of the 
most imposing ranges in our country. From the Tetons 
I have also seen these peaks of the Wind River Range. 
Within this visible area of mountains lies the highest 
watershed of North America, whence, from an area of 
fifty miles square, flow tributaries to the Atlantic, the 
Pacific, the Gulf of California, and the Salt Lake basin. 

The triangular disposition of the mountain ranges as 
they lay before us, at this time outlined by their snow- 
capped summits, is not clearly shown upon the maps, but 
of such a form was the impression made upon our eyes. 



270 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

Away down below us and between the sides of that great 
triangle, thus walled in by mountains, lay the broad 
basin into which converge the upper tributaries of Green 
River, a stream which in turn breaking through the Uinta 
Range rushes southward to join the Colorado, and thence 
onward through its titanic canyons to the Gulf of California. 
And now, while the western mountains were casting their 
far-reaching shadows across this broad basin beneath us, 
the cold, snow-mantled sides of the Wind River Range 
were dazzling and glittering in the level beams of the 
setting sun. From our point of view and at that time 
they were seen at their best. It was not like an Alpine 
scene, diversified by momitain lakes, waterfalls, and 
picturesque chalets, but it had a suggestion of wonderful 
breadth and vastness and afforded a range of vision rarely 
to be seen, except when one looks upward to the stars; 
but the whole of that landscape of mountains, and the deep, 
broad desert which they enveloped, was bleak and desolate, 
with never sign of animal life nor trace of vegetation 
visible. Though to us it was a new country, everything 
appeared to be old, as if through countless ages it had 
remained unchanged. With this impression stamped upon 
our minds, many members of our party wrapped their 
blankets round them and slept under the open sky. 

It happened on that night, one or two nights after the 
full of the moon, to be my duty to stand guard until mid- 
night. Hence it fell to my lot to watch a dazzling, winter- 
like sunset in midsummer, which, because of the prevailing 
whiteness, imparted hardly a tint as the daylight faded, 
except what was seen in the star-studded azure above. 
After a brief period of declining light there was a wondrous 
change when the clear, cold, and pearly moonlight broke 
over the eastern highlands and lighted up the vast, white, 



THE PARTING OF THE WAYS 271 

frosty landscape, for the moon was now in her glory and, 

" Chaste as the icicle 
That's curdled by the frost from purest snow, " 

and thus in harmony with the earth upon which she shone, 
for the distant landscape was spotless white, and the vast 
stretches of mountain ranges which, along many hundreds 
of miles, pinnacled the distant horizon with towers and 
minarets, were covered with crystals of frost and snow. 

It was at the break of the coming day when our little 
outfit closely followed by Mr. Warne's party rolled out in 
advance of the long train, and by sunrise we were follow- 
ing the very gentle descent of the western slope, across 
sandy and gravelly wastes, which were relieved here and 
there by barren, flat-topped clay buttes, for the sun had 
done rapid work with the snow in the lowlands. The 
night found us at Little Sandy, an unruly stream six or 
eight yards wide, which was doing its best in an unceasing 
endeavor to make the dreary desert interesting. Accord- 
ing to the old Mormon diaries, (to which reference has 
already been made) it was near this ford, June 28, 1847, 
that Brigham Young and his party first met Jim Bridger. 
Jim was a famous mountaineer and guide, an almost con- 
stant wanderer through those wilds, and might be en- 
countered at almost any out of the way place in the Rock- 
ies. On summing up the meager records in the diaries, 
and my personal inter\dews with some of those first pio- 
neers, it appears that Bridger, with two of his men, had 
come over from his fort on their way toward the Pass 
and had struck this Oregon trail, probably at Green River. 
Fortunately for the Saints they met toward evening near 
this stream. Learning that the traveler was Bridger, the 



£72 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

Mormons prevailed upon him to camp with them over 
night, because he, above all others, was the man they 
most desired then to meet, because of his familiarity with 
the Salt Lake Valley, concerning which the Saints had 
no definite knowledge. 

To reach Salt Lake they must soon leave the well de- 
fined Oregon trail. The remainder of their course was to 
be guided, if at all, by the narrow trails of the trappers. 
It was up and down these tributaries of Green River and 
into the wilds of Pierre's Hole and Jackson's Hole, be- 
tween which lie the majestic Tetons, that the fur traders 
and hunters found the most profitable game in greatest 
abundance. From among the men engaged in this pur- 
suit was organized the Rocky Mountain Fur Company — 
Jackson, Green, Biddle and others, whose names are still 
familiar in St. Louis, being interested in the venture. 
In later years LaBarge, Sarpy, Picott, Pratte, Cabanne 
and other St. Louis men entered the business. Many of 
the men occupied in these operations were Creoles, the 
name applied to French or Spanish people born in 
America. 

In memory of David E. Jackson, the magnificent val- 
ley on the east slope of the Tetons was named Jackson's 
Hole and the beautiful lake resting within its bosom was 
named Jackson's Lake. Thus in those valleys were 
scattered several hundred pioneers of another type than 
men who have carried civilization into our now older 
territory, with possibly the exception of the upper lake 
districts. Some of them were French Canadians or 
half-breeds, trained in the service of the Hudson Bay 
Company. A few were expert marksmen from Kentucky, 
and with them were many hardy Missourians, with St. 
Louis men as leaders. In addition to those turbulent 



THE PARTING OF THE WAYS 273 

and apparently heterogeneous groups of nomadic pio- 
neers, there appear to have been many independent 
trappers and traders, who also were restrained by no ties 
and subject to no written laws. Although these latter 
were pioneer explorers and accumulated great wealth 
for the companies that employed them, they were not the 
men who discovered and developed the resources of the 
great West. Though confronted by many perils and 
hardships, they loved their vocation and the wild and 
wandering life along the mountain streams. Their 
passion for the hunt was well expressed in the lines : 
"Give me the lure of the long, white trail. 
With the wind blowing strong in my face as I go; 
Give me the song of the wolf dog's wail 
And the crunch of the moccasin in the snow." 

Of this type was Jim Bridger, a hero and a chief among 
the mountaineers. In the interview that night on the 
banks of the Little Sandy, surrounded by the exiled 
leaders of the Mormon Church, he directed the Mormons 
where they should leave the Oregon trail, and then follow 
chiefly along trappers' paths, and through the mountain 
canyons to Salt Lake Valley. Those narrow paths, as far 
as they should be used, would be simply for guidance. 
Along and beyond these they must blaze and clear their 
own roadway for wagons, and must ford many mountain 
streams. 

**But tell us about the valley itself," asked Brigham 
Young, after the mountaineer had outlined the most 
practicable route to reach it. 

"Well, Mr. Young," replied Bridger, "I wouldn't go 
into that alkali valley to raise crops. I'll give you one 
thousand dollars for the first ear of corn you raise there." 
He then proceeded to describe the desert which surrounded 



274 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

the saline waters of the lake, in which no life could exist. 
The substance of this conversation was recited to me one 
afternoon at Bridger's home. iVt the time it occurred 
the Mormons had not learned that the Salt Lake coun- 
try had been ceded by Mexico to the United States. 

This interview between Bridger and the Mormons and 
the subsequent turning of the Saints from the old trail, 
as there recommended by Bridger, brings us to the point 
where, leaving the scene of that conference, a small de- 
tachment of our party were also soon to turn from the 
same trail and follow in the tortuous mountain paths 
taken by the first Mormon emigrants, as mapped out for 
them by Bridger. Dan and Noah and also the Warne 
family and others who had been our traveling companions 
across hundreds of miles of desert and on excursions up 
the mountains, were to continue with the big train on the 
Oregon trail. The information that this separation 
would be made at Green River crossing, then but a few 
miles before us, came to us unexpectedly. We knew 
nothing of those western trails except those which we had 
already traversed. None of these paths were shown 
upon our maps. The recent days had been gliding by, 
as days sometimes do when brightened by the mystic 
influence of congenial companionship. 

It is needless to state that the boys deeply regretted 
the necessity of so soon parting from their old friends 
Dan and Noah, and from Mr. and Mrs. Warne and their 
obliging driver. Bill Swope. In this list we should not 
fo'-get also to mention the daughters of Mr. and Mrs. 
Warne, who, being bright, cultured, and refined, seemed 
like exotics in that barren wilderness. One evening, 
when Miss Margaret Warne was sitting upon a rude box 
while others completed the circle around a sage bush fire. 



THE PARTING OF THE WAYS 275 

and her soft voice was being listened to with rapt at- 
tention, one of the boys whispered to his neighbor and 
said, "That soap box is now a throne, for that girl upon 
it is a queen." The young man who whispered the words 
was dead in earnest. Old Deacon Cobb, who owned 
many horses and whose observations concerning men and 
women were of course made from his own peculiar stand- 
point, often remarked the daring, freedom, and grace 
with which the girls mounted and rode their horses. 
Dan had said that they were fine conversers and well in- 
formed on general topics. These attractive, winsome 
girls were going into some part of Montana that was un- 
peopled by civilized beings, where it seemed that their 
light and influence would be wasted, as would the sparkle 
of a gem in the desert sands. The boys lamented this 
sacrifice of personal worth. They thought little, cared 
less, and in fact did not then know, as no one then knew, 
of the hundreds of emigrants who were to follow later and 
settle around the home of this family and receive from 
it that uplift which, in the establishment of a new colony, 
one family may exert upon the moral and social life of the 
community. 

As already indicated, the boys were hardly ready to say 
good-bye to the young ladies, but it was impossible for 
them to present some reason why they also should see 
Montana. 

It is difficult for the present day traveler to compre- 
hend the peculiar situations and emergencies that some- 
times confronted the western emigrant in the early days, 
when they were as effectually removed from the re- 
straints, conveniences, and conventionalities of civilized 
life as if they had been transported to an uninhabited 
island. An example of such a crisis, even more striking 



276 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

than that in which our young men found themselves 
when nearing that fork of the roads, was related to me 
by a member of a family who shared in a strange episode, 
which culminated at the parting of the ways which we 
were soon to reach. 

It was in the summer of 1849, when a wagon train of 
emigrants captained by George Scofield, the head of the 
family last mentioned, was slowly crawling over this 
same road on its long way to the newly discovered gold 
fields near Sacramento. Among the emigrants who had 
been traveling under the protection of the Scofield outfit 
were a few who were bound for Oregon. With the 
travelers who were destined for California was a young 
and vigorous farmer from one of the Middle States, 
whose name was Pratt and who was accompanied by his 
wife and six young children, the youngest being an infant 
and the oldest hardly ten years of age. Mr. Pratt, like 
the majority of the pioneers, had embarked his all, when 
he started to cast his fortune in what was then an almost 
unknown territory. The long line of covered wagons 
crossed the Mississippi River and rolled out over the 
plains. In a few weeks the stock of provisions was 
practically exhausted. Many of the horses were run 
off by the Indians, leaving a heavy burden upon the 
animals which were left. While the men were toiling 
by day and watching against the savages by night, the 
women also had their work to perform and their vigils 
to maintain, for the children had their weary hours. 

While traversing the desert, Mrs. Pratt became a 
helpless invalid, and in spite of her husband's efforts she 
and the children were suffering from neglect. With her 
parents, bound for Oregon and accompanying the train, 
was Miss Huldah Thompson, a strong, kind-hearted, 



THE PARTING OF THE WAYS 277 

young woman, who became deeply interested in the un- 
happy condition of Mrs. Pratt and her children, and 
with the noble impulses of a Florence Nightingale, she 
voluntarily served them to the limit of her strength. 

Weeks passed by, and one blistering hot day, while the 
train was dragging along beyond the stream. Little Sandy, 
Mrs. Pratt died. The train was ordered to halt while 
men and women held a council near the dusty, covered 
wagon in which lay the remains of the young mother. 
Nothing could be done except what always had been 
done w^hen one of such a company dies, where there is no 
cemetery except the broad bosom of Mother Earth and 
no person within reach fitted to conduct funeral rites. 
Therefore, while the train stood still, as stop the engines 
of the ocean steamer while the body of the dead is con- 
signed to the sea, the sympathetic emigrants circled 
around the hastily dug grave by the roadside in the 
desert, while the body from which the spirit had taken 
its flight hardly an hour before, was lowered into its 
solitary tomb. 

Then again the line moved slowly on the long drive 
toward the ford of the Big Sandy, before reaching which 
no water would be found, and there they camped. 

Huldah had been a stranger to the Pratt family until 
they were brought together on this pilgrimage across 
the plains, and now the day after the burial, the train 
was expected to reach the forks of the road at Green 
River, and Huldah, with her parents and other friends, 
was to proceed on the Oregon trail, while Mr. Pratt was 
to continue under the protection of Scofield's train along 
the new Mormon trail. Pratt was heart-broken. Huldah 
was sympathetic and helpful to the last moment. 

A new light began to dawn upon Pratt, and a new 



278 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

emotion rose within him. If anything was to be done 
in response to this newborn inspiration it must be done 
quickly. During the hours of the only evening whose 
shadows fell after the burial, and before the expected 
separation, Pratt and Huldah were engaged in earnest 
converse. This brief courtship was concluded by sum- 
moning the Thompson family and Mr. and Mrs. Scofield 
to a midnight conference on the bank of the Big Sandy. 
The Thompsons finally yielded to the inevitable, and the 
definite approval of all members of the little party was 
given to the plans proposed. The morrow was to be a 
day of unusual activity with the emigrants because of 
transfers of loads and teams to be made on dividing the 
train, and hence the night after the burial presented the 
last opportunity to solve the delicate problem then be- 
fore the little group which had convened. It must be 
now and forever or never. 

There being no officer of the law and no clergyman in 
all that broad wilderness who was authorized to perform 
the marriage rites, Huldah without further ado and in the 
presence of the witnesses there gathered at midnight 
on the bank of Big Sandy River consented then and there 
to become Mrs. Pratt. On the following day the train 
reached Green River, where Mrs. Pratt bade adieu to her 
father and mother and proceeded with her husband on a 
honeymoon trip toward California, with many months 
of travel still before her, along a route where possibly 
not even a hut would be seen after passing the new Mor- 
mon settlement near Great Salt Lake, at which point 
it was hoped that supplies would be obtained. 

Although other emigrants who continued with the 
Scofield train failed to reach the Eldorado of the West, 
Pratt and his wife, Huldah, with their family, made the 



THE PARTING OF THE WAYS 279 

trip with safety and became a part of the remarkable 
civilization that characterized the early California 
settlements. 

We also had camped at Big Sandy, a stream varying 
in volume, but now about three feet in depth and easily 
forded. A dozen Confederate soldiers, then loyally in 
the service of the United States Government, were tem- 
porarily stationed there, to afford a nominal protection 
to the few trains then passing that way. In the evening, 
Ben, who was fresh from his army life, led the veterans 
to recitals of many of their recent experiences on southern 
battle-fields. One more day of travel brought us to 
Green River. The country traversed is a barren clay 
land, inhospitable, and apparently sterile, presenting 
hardly a blade of grass to relieve the monotony of the 
scenery. The young people who had saddle horses, car- 
ing little then for scenery, rode leisurely in advance of the 
train and planned somewhat for the future. 

A rough looking old frontiersman had established a 
ferry at Green River, which, in conjunction with trapping 
wolves, and selling whiskey and other necessaries, enabled 
him to earn a livelihood. His tattered garments and the 
exterior of his hut and its surroundings left us with the 
impression that he was not enjoying great prosperity. 
His charges for ferrying seemed to be somewhat excessive, 
but the stream being very swift and the water at points 
being ten feet in depth, we concluded negotiations for the 
portage and camped on the further shore of the river. 

As it is our purpose to describe some of the movements 
that led to the development of the West, we must here 
and there secure glimpses of the emigrants who under- 
took that work, even though it be through eyes other than 
our own. I find in a diary written by a member of the 



^80 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

Mormon pioneer train, that when that party reached 
Green River, to which we have just referred, the com- 
pany was there met by one Samuel Brannan who, with 
other Mormons, had sailed round Cape Horn to Yerba 
Buena (now San Francisco) intending to establish a 
colony on San Joaquin River. Knowing of the proposed 
emigration of the Saints, he started eastward with two 
companions, hoping to meet Young and his party. The 
diary states that on his course Brannan and his party 
passed a camping ground where nearly fifty emigrants 
had perished from storm and famine, there being but 
one survivor, a German, who had subsisted several weeks 
on human flesh. 

We return now to our night near the banks of the 
Green River. As it was my watch from midnight and 
we were to roll out at daybreak, I retired early with a 
few words of farewell to those from whom we were to 
separate, leaving others to enjoy the later hours, as part- 
ing friends are apt to do. It may be stated now that 
some of the boys later made a visit to Montana, but for a 
time this thread in our story is broken. It was in the 
gray light of the morning that each member of our party 
was roused to his respective service. The teams were 
rushed in while the breakfast was being prepared, and at 
sunrise all were off for the still further West. The main 
train turned to the right, and our party to the left. 
After a mile or more of travel we halted upon a hilltop, 
before descending out of sight, and from the distance we 
heard the last shouts of good-bye from the other train, 
accompanied by waving of hats and handerchiefs, after 
which our now very small party moved on alone. 



^f 




CHAPTER XXII 

The Banditti of Ham's Fork 

BEFORE our little outfit rolled out from Ne- 
braska City, Captain Whitmore gave us many 
suggestions concerning our route, and instruc- 
tions as to where long drives must be made along 
which no water would be found. Among other words of 
warning he said, with some earnestness, *'Now, boys, if you 
take the South Pass route keep a close watch when near 
Ham's Fork. I lost some stock there and am confident 
that it was stolen, for I have learned that a gang of thieves 
and outlaws are located near that crossing. " Now it hap- 
pened that early in the afternoon of the 4th of August, 
while riding in advance of our train in search of a suitable 
place to camp for the night, I descended to a very large and 
rapidly flowing stream, thirty or forty feet in width and 
about two feet in depth. I forded, and located a very sat- 
isfactory camping place near the west bank. Having sig- 
naled our approaching drivers to cross the little river and 
camp at a point indicated, I rode upstream along the banks 
for further reconnoitering. 

On reaching the crest of a low ridge there came into view 
in the distance to the left some outline of what proved later 
to be a solitary good-sized log cabin, situated in a seques- 
tered valley. After traversing the last few hundred miles 
of our course, along which we had discovered only the few 

281 



282 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

huts to which reference has already been made, this hospit- 
able looking cabin seemed wonderfully attractive. Led on 
by curiosity I turned directly to the building and soon ob- 
served a tall, athletic figure standing erect in the open door. 
It proved to be a swarthy, black-haired man, attired in a 
red flannel shirt and leather breeches, the bottoms of which 
were tucked into his long topped boots. Having a revol- 
ver strapped to his waist, he was equipped to fit well the 
rude setting in which he was placed. I addressed the 
stranger with a " Hello, " as I assumed to pass by. ** Hello, 
where in h — 1 are you bound for. ^ Ain't you lost. f^" was 
his cheerful greeting. This rough form of salutation, then 
so common among frontiersmen in the West, may read in 
print as if it implied the speaker's familiarity with the 
nether regions to which he referred, and that my course led 
to some department of the Devil's domain. In manner 
the greeting was thoroughly cordial, and the words that 
conveyed it had no more significance than the conventional 
"How do you do?" to which no specific reply is expected. 
The greeting led me to turn my horse near to the door and, 
having been riding for several hours, I dismounted and 
threw the bridle reins over a post. An invitation to come 
in and sit down was accepted, for I felt a desire to see the 
interior of a cabin that was so remarkably situated, for it 
was not a location that a trader or trapper would naturally 
select. My reply concerning the object of my ride was 
reasonably frank and apparently satisfactory. Imme- 
diately after my entrance to the cabin three men, also wear- 
ing leather breeches, straggled in from another room, and 
in time there was a larger gathering than I had hoped to 
meet. Some members of the party took a half-reclining 
position on bunks built along the sides of the room, others 
straddled rough wooden chairs, a number of which, when I 



THE BANDITTI OF HAM'S FORK 283 

entered, surrounded a table on which lay a pack of cards. 
The man who first addressed me continued the conversa- 
tion during which, while facing me, he stood with feet some- 
what apart and his hands thrust deep into his trousers' 
pockets. The sombre effect of his heavy black mustache, 
stubby beard, and swarthy complexion was somewhat 
relieved by the good-natured manner in which he con- 
versed, and by his cordial request that I join with him in 
a drink from a black bottle that he took from a cupboard, 
an invitation which was interpreted as being an evidence 
of his benevolent impulses. The black-haired man seemed 
to be astounded when I declined to drink his good 
whiskey. The fact that my newly-found friend and some 
of his companions carried revolvers in their belts signified 
but little, because even I, a peaceful traveler, had carried 
my rifle, as was our usual custom where there was any 
hope of finding game. 

"What kind of a gun have you got.^^ " asked the ranch- 
er, as he stopped and took it from my hands. 

"It's a Henry. " The men gathered around and one by 
one carefully examined the rifle. 

"Sixteen shooters, ain't they.'^" asked one. 

"Yes, 32 calibre." 

While the weapon was commanding the undivided at- 
tention of the men in the room, an occasion was afforded 
me to take a more careful survey of the furnishings, among 
which were a few guns, saddles, and other trappings for 
horsemen. 

I was what might properly be termed, in the parlance of 
the country, an innocent tenderfoot, and yet an innocent 
on observing the interior of a home cannot fail to form some 
impressions concerning the type of people who occupy it. 

"This stream off here is a branch of Green River, is it 



284 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

not?" I propounded the question partly to get my bear- 
ings and partly to hasten the examination of the rifle. 

"Yes," replied one, without raising his eyes from the 
gun, "it's Ham's Fork, — but does this gun throw the 
spent cartridge all right when the hammer comes up?" 

"Yes, it works all right. Is there much game along the 
stream?" 

"Wa'al, there's right smart of game round here some- 
times, " — which response was a shibboleth that betrayed 
the speaker as having come from Indiana. Something, for 
the first time since we left the Missouri River, brought to 
my mind the spirit of Whitmore's admonition, "Beware 
of Ham's Fork." 

I had already lingered longer than I had intended to do, 
for I wished to find a spot where our horses could be pas- 
tured for the night. I accordingly told the man that my 
party was doubtless already encamped near the ford, and I 
must return to supper. After returning the rifle, all the 
men walked with me to my horse, and as I mounted ex- 
pressed wishes for my good luck, and other favorable con- 
ditions too numerous to recall. I slowly traveled up the 
gentle ascent, taking a view from time to time of the gen- 
eral surroundings. On reaching the camp I reported my 
observations to the boys and reminded them of Captain 
Whitmore's experience and advice. 

Instead of seeking a remote place for pasturing our horses 
we picketed them within sight of the camp and main- 
tained an extra guard during the night. 

It is possible that no reference would have been made 
herein to the unimportant episode in this interesting cabin, 
had it not been for the experience that befell Whitmore and 
his men with our ox train, w^hich followed us over this road 
some weeks later. 



THE BANDITTI OF HAM'S FORK 285 

As stated by the Captain and some of his men, they ar- 
rived at Ham's Fork, crossing late in the day after a diffi- 
cult drive. Their stock, consisting chiefly of oxen, were 
driven off to a range some distance from the camp, to feed 
for the night. In the early morning the herders reported 
to the Captain that eight oxen were missing and that they 
had been unable to track them in any direction. Whit- 
more at once suspected the cause of the trouble. After 
sending out scouts for two or three miles in various direc- 
tions on horseback in search of the lost stock, he himself 
made some survey of the country upstream. The men 
returned and reported that the stock was not found. This 
was all accomplished before eight o'clock. iVt about that 
time Whitmore called his men close around him, gave his 
opinion of the situation, and asked them if, in view of all 
the circumstances, they were ready for a fight. The fact 
was that every man was anxious for some excitement. Of 
the forty odd men in the outfit more than one half of them 
had seen active service in the Civil War just ended, and 
there was a good rifle for nearly every man. No better, 
braver, or more vigorous body of men could easily be found. 

"All right," said Whitmore, "I'm going to get those 
oxen before I leave Ham's Fork. I am going to take one 
man with me over to the ranch beyond the hill yonder. I 
want all of you to get your guns and lie down out of sight 
on this side of a slope which lies off north, and where two or 
three of you can, at all times, see me. Now, you see this 
old, red silk handkerchief. If I should pull that out, it 
would be a signal that I want every one of you to come 
down in a rush with your guns and surround that d — d den 
over there, and I'll boss the job when you get there. And 
if it's a fight shoot to kill, because I know they are a hard 
crowd. I've heard of 'em before now. " 



286 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

These brief instructions seemed to be well understood. 
Whitmore had selected his companion, a strong, cool, 
hardy young man, who had served in the Iron Brigade dur- 
ing the war, and the two, without rifles, but with pistols at 
their sides, started on foot for the ranch. Before they 
reached its open door the men connected with the train 
were lying concealed along and near the crest of the ridge 
ready for service. The two were met at the door of the 
ranch by two or three of the occupants of the cabin. 
Whereupon, Whitmore, without any circumlocution, said 
to them, "I want my oxen." The reply, as might have 
been expected, was embodied in a few vigorous curses, and 
the question, "What the h~l have we got to do with your 
oxen? " AVhitmore was a man who had seen much of west- 
ern life and in emergencies had command of a vigorous 
vocabulary in common use in that country. He also knew 
that the men whom he was now confronting were part of 
a band of the banditti of the plains, who were likely to kill 
on the slightest provocation. He was also conscious that 
the least evidence of timidity would render his mission 
fruitless, if not fatal. He accordingly and in very em- 
phatic language informed his auditors that they must 
promptly deliver to him the missing stock. This announce- 
ment brought to the front a number of tough-looking men, 
who emerged from an adjoining room attracted by the 
pointed conversation at the front of the ranch, and all were 
apparently enraged because of Whitmore's assertion that 
they were thieves. Thus far the interview had been simply 
a war of words, but now the ranchers declared that they 
would kill him instanter if the demand should be repeated. 
At that point Whitmore had occasion to wipe the perspi- 
ration from his brow, which he did with his big red hand- 
kerchief, which he flourished as he stood near the door. 



THE BANDITTI OF HAM'S FORK 287 

This was the agreed signal, and forty men, armed with 
rifles, suddenly came rushing down the slope, completely 
surrounding the ranch. The demonstration was undoubt- 
edly a surprise to the gang of the cabin. Whitmore hardly 
moved from his tracks, but quietly said, "I have just one 
more word to say to you fellows. We mean business. 
Two of you men may go outside of our lines to get my 
oxen. You may tell me which men you wish to have 
to go. If another man attempts to leave he mil be shot. 
If those oxen are not delivered here by six o'clock tonight, 

we'll blow your d — d old ranch to the infernal 

regions. I know you fellows from away back. Now how 
does that strike you?" The declaration was duly 
emphasized with appropriate epithets, such as are sup- 
posed to add force and lucidity to such a statement, as 
legal terms often do in arguments made in courts of justice. 

Some explosions of bluff and braggadocio from the 
ranchers followed Whitmore's announcement, until one of 
the gang, who had been engaged in a private conversation 
with another inside the ranch, came out and said with more 
calmness, "Now your oxen have probably strayed off, and 
if you wouldn't make such a d~d fuss about it, mebbe we 
might help you find 'em. We know the ranges pretty well, 
but we won't stand any of your insinuations." Whit- 
more cast a glance at his men, who all appeared to be per- 
fectly serene. Their Henry repeating rifles, recognizable 
by their bright brass mountings, were in hand ready for 
business. 

*'As I said a minute ago," continued Whitmore, "all I 
ask of you is that you get the oxen, and you have got to get 
'em d — d quick, and the quicker you get 'em the better for 



288 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

you. I'll give you just about five minutes to settle what 
you will do, but mind you, only two men can pass our lines 
without a fight." 

Now this was one method for securing justice, practic- 
able only under peculiar circumstances. There were no 
courts, no constables, and the practice of bluff was some- 
times worked to the limit. Sometimes the bluff would fail 
and often a desperate fight would follow. 

"'Well, pard, " said one of the leaders, after a private 
parley with some members of his party, "we ain't here to 
hunt other people's stock, and we ain't afraid of nobody, 
but mebbe there is some misunderstanding about this thing 
and we are willin' to see if we can't find your oxen. Now, 
what do they look like.'* " " You bring me eight good oxen," 
replied Hill, "and I reckon they'll be mine. " 

In a little time two men, wearing leather breeches, might 
have been seen riding northward and disappearing in the 
distance. At the same time the men from the train fell 
back to a respectful distance, many resting upon the 
ground prepared for a protracted vigil. In about three 
hours the riders returned, driving all the missing stock be- 
fore them. The battle was declared off, and after lunch 
the train promptly pulled out for Green River. 

Having seen the old rendezl'ous of Jean Lafitte, the 
dreaded pirate of the Gulf, situated far back near the 
swampy shore and protected in the rear by impenetrable 
canebrakes, also the bolder structure said to have been the 
castle of Gilles de Rais, the French Buccaneer in the Danish 
Islands, in the light that history and romance have thrown 
round them, I have endeavored in imagination to repeople 
them with the characters, both men and women, who once 
inhabited those now deserted strongholds, yet I have never 
pictured a band that would more perfectly suit that service 



THE BANDITTI OF HAM'S FORK 289 

nor have I ever seen a body of men who in manner and 
appearance were more perfectly adapted to such a voca- 
tion than the gang who infested the cabin at Ham's Fork. 



CHAPTER XXIII 

Through the Wasatch Mountains 

FRED, who one afternoon had been riding in ad- 
vance, was observed toward the close of the day 
waving his old hat and shouting, *' Hurrah, 
here is water!" We had been traveling many- 
hours across a desolate, barren country that lay silent and 
apparently lifeless beneath a bright sun, and the announce- 
ment that water was in sight was received with great satis- 
faction. We soon descended toward a swift-running 
stream, along which there strolled a solitary man, the only 
person we had seen during the day. He paused at the ford, 
awaiting our arrival. 

"What stream is this?" we asked the stranger. 

"Smith Fork," was the reply. 

"This appears to be a good place to camp," remarked 
Fred. 

"You'll go a long way before you find another, " said the 
stranger as he drew nigh to our horsemen. 

"Do you live in these parts .'^" 

"Yes, I have a ranch down below here, and I'd like to 
have you come and see me. " 

We promised to respond to his invitation, as soon as our 
stock could be properly picketed on the range. An hour 
later Ben, Fred, and I sauntered down the stream and were 
soon at the door of a good-sized cabin, in which stood our 

290 



THROUGH THE WASATCH MOUNTAINS 291 

new acquaintance ready to receive us. He was a strong, 
fine-looking fellow, with a genial face, and he welcomed us 
most cordially. The room into which we were immediate- 
ly ushered, although simple in its appointments, as was to 
be expected in the cabin of a frontiersman in such a wilder- 
ness, nevertheless had an air of comfort. The attractive 
arrangement of various little articles indicated that 
woman was the presiding genius; for there is an indescrib- 
able something that is imparted even to the rudest cabin 
by a woman's hands. 

In a short time a young lady of engaging appearance en- 
tered the room, whom our host introduced to us as his wife, 
Clara. The boys all rose instantly to take the hand of this 
Queen of the valley of Smith Fork. When we resumed our 
seats, the rancher asked the usual questions concerning 
our destination. Learning in addition to other facts that 
one of our party, Paul Beemer, had with him in his wagon 
a stock of jewelry which he was taking West to sell, the 
mountaineer requested that some of the articles be brought 
over to the cabin, so that the women might see them. 

All is not gold that glitters, and this was true of the 
treasures that Paul possessed, which had been packed away 
in attractive packages in his wagon. He was perfectly 
willing to present for inspection a few choice samples, 
which he believed would interest the ladies of Smith Fork, 
whoever they might be. The society of that entire valley 
as far as we could learn, was centered in this one cabin, 
but we knew nothing of the character of the household. 

In response to the rancher's request, Paul soon appeared 
bearing a few packages containing his choicest jewels, 
which were soon opened upon a table in the room where we 
had been received. 

In anticipation of the pleasure in store for them, two 



292 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

other young women soon came rushing into the room in 
high glee. To our surprise, these also were introduced as 
wives of the host. 

They were all certainly very attractive in personal ap- 
pearance, and none of the three seemed to be more than 
twenty-three years of age. The husband was a compara- 
tively young man. 

"With such a fine family we may safely conclude that 
you are a Mormon," said Ben. 

"You are correct, " replied the rancher. "We are of the 
church of Latter Day Saints, and I think I have a fine fam- 

iiy." 

This sentiment met our cordial endorsement. Being 
thus introduced for the first time into a Mormon home, ajid 
having read much concerning the doctrines and practices 
of this people, I was very curious, as other persons have 
been, to observe something of their religious life and the 
manner in which their complex domestic affairs are man- 
aged. In later years I have been received in many Mo- 
hammedan homes in Turkey and other parts of the Orient, 
but among those people, as is well known, the women of 
the household are required to retire from the room before 
a guest may enter, however intimate that guest may be 
with the host. These young women of Utah were appar- 
ently as free to converse with guests as would be the wife 
of an Illinois farmer. They were also refined and modest 
in deportment. 

As soon as Paul had spread out upon the table several 
trays of his most attractive jewelry, imported as I be- 
lieved from Connecticut, the ladies proceeded to examine 
the articles. There were so-called amethyst pins and ear- 
rings, the jewels of which were of an excellent quality of 
exquisitely colored glass, and necklaces that might please 



THROUGH THE WASATCH MOUNTAINS 293 

a queen, if she did not know how little they cost. The 
young women were delighted, and when one of them espied 
a pin that had the appearance of an emerald set with dia- 
monds she made a dive for it and, holding it to her neck, 
asked the husband, in whom she had a one-third interest, 
if it was not beautiful. He seemed favorably impressed 
with the combination, and asked the price of the treasure. 
It was a good opportunity for Paul to ask about nine thous - 
and dollars, but he was square, and informed the admiring 
husband that as he, Paul, was not regularly in business 
he would make the price to him ten dollars, because he 
was anxious to realize on a few articles and ready to make 
a sacrifice to obtain a little money. The pin was imme- 
diately presented to the young wife by the husband, who 
said that the other girls must have something equally fine. 
It will be readily understood that in a home with three 
young wives, the principle of the square deal must be fun- 
damental, otherwise there will be jealousies and heart- 
burnings. 

The Mormon rancher stood a little distance back from 
the enthusiastic group in the Smith Fork cabin, and with 
a broad smile upon his face watched his wives while they 
reveled freely in the assortment of cheap jewelry. Paul did 
not hand the treasures out article by article with the watch- 
ful care that is practiced by the trained diamond salesmen 
in the great New York shops, but allowed free access to his 
goods. When the young women had satisfied their hearts' 
desire, the husband was apparently the happiest person in 
the group and promptly paid cash for the articles selected. 
Thus the lord of this frontier manor with a free and easy 
air scanned with an eye to equity the articles with which 
his several wives were adorning themselves and (as we be- 
lieved) was conscious of the fact that there would be an 



294 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

hereafter, in case one of them should believe herself to be 
the subject of unfavorable discrimination. 

Our visit to this new Mormon home far out in the moun- 
tains became the subject of much discussion in the evening, 
and in fact made a lasting impression on us. What were 
to be the experiences of this family as the months should 
go by, and the responsibilities of later years should rest 
upon the father and mothers .^^ Could the husband under 
this system religiously preserve the principle of the square 
deal, and not find among the three who were pledged to 
share his joys and sorrows one who, because of some pecu- 
liar attraction, should become a favorite, and for that cause 
rouse the green-eyed monster in the breasts of her sisters? 
Would they all welcome the fourth wife, if another should 
be escorted to the door.^^ 

On the morning after our arrival at Smith Fork I was 
called at 12.30 a. m., it being my duty that morning to 
stand guard until the breakfast hour, which was to be at 
daybreak. We soon discovered that our course had led 
us to the thoroughfare pursued by the Holliday mail coach- 
es. The trail was stony, and many steep hills were as- 
cended and descended. At noon we reached Fort Bridger, 
established by James Bridger, to whom Bancroft and other 
high authorities have accorded the honor of the first dis- 
covery of Great Salt Lake, whose waters he reached when 
in the service of Henry and Ashley of the Rocky Mountain 
Fur Company. Bancroft also states that Franciscan friars, 
who explored in the southern country, had evidently learned 
of this lake through the Yutah Indians inhabiting that re- 
gion. 

Fort Bridger was beautifully situated near one of the 
tributaries of Black Fork, 124 miles northeast of Salt Lake, 
at an elevation of about seven thousand feet above the sea. 



THROUGH THE WASATCH MOUNTAINS 295 

Some incidents in the history of this Fort in its relation to 
the Mormons, as given to me personally, may be more 
properly mentioned in another chapter. At Fort Bridger 
we found many Snake and Bannock Indians, who were 
then at peace with all the world, except the Sioux. It was 
reported that three thousand Snakes had left this post the 
week preceding our arrival. 

The scenery between Fort Bridger and the entrance to 
Salt Lake valley, as observed from our pathway, is grand 
and interesting. Having passed over the divide and 
thence down to the swift waters of Bear River, we again 
ascended to another summit and thence into the upper en- 
trance to Echo Canyon, a wild gorge hemmed in by sand- 
stone cliffs. Toward the close of the day we overtook a 
Mormon farmer having a wagonload of garden truck and 
other produce. We had not tasted a fresh vegetable since 
leaving Nebraska City in May, and it was now the eighth 
of August. We were in a frame of mind similar to that of 
the Israelites in the wilderness of Sin, when they sighed 
for the good things back in Egypt. Paul was delegated to 
interview the farmer in a diplomatic manner and if possible 
negotiate for something to eat, but under no circumstances 
to divulge the fact that we were famishing for a change of 
diet, which if known might cause the farmer to establish 
high prices, for he certainly had an effective corner on the 
green goods market. Paul reported that the best prices 
he could obtain were six bits, or seventy-five cents, per 
pound for butter; eight cents per pound for potatoes; ten 
cents for onions. 

"Did he say six bits?" asked Uncle Simeon Cobb. 

"He did," replied Paul. 

"Then he is from Missouri," continued the deacon. 

The order finally was to buy potatoes and onions. 



296 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

"They are a good buy," said the deacon, whereupon we 
instantly went into camp. In fact, it was near the close 
of the day, and the clear, bright waters of Echo Creek rush- 
ing down the narrow gorge, and the little patches of grass on 
which our horses might revel, presented every inducement 
needed for pitching our tent, but the supreme reason was 
onions and potatoes. 

Soon the delicate fragrance of frying onions, as all per- 
vasive as the aroma of an orange grove, was diffusing itself 
throughout that beautiful and magnificent valley. The 
party watched around the campfire, as if in fear that some- 
thing might be wasted in the air. The potatoes, carefully 
counted, were placed beneath the ashes, where for one long 
hour they must lie unseen and untasted. How long and 
how many its sixty minutes! 

Much has been written by would-be purveyors on the art 
of cooking various mixtures. To many of these concoc- 
tions, some of which are unfit to be introduced into the hu- 
man stomach, there have been ascribed names usually of 
French coinage, the purpose of which is both to disguise 
the commonplace ingredients used and to compensate in 
some measure for lack of attractiveness to the palate, by 
spicing the compound with a mysterious name of foreign 
derivation. 

On the other hand it may be interesting to the fastidious 
epicure to glance at some instructions for properly cooking 
one simple article in plain American style, al fresco, the 
recipe for which is prepared by an intelligent expert as the 
precipitate of personal experience. 

How TO ROAST POTATOES IN CAMP. First sccure 
the potatoes. Wrap them separately in wet paper or 
something of a similar nature that may be available. Bury 
them in the hot ashes of the campfire and cover with hot 



THROUGH THE WASATCH MOUNTAINS 297 

embers. Let them remain an hour. Then call the boys. 
In serving they should not be cut open with a knife, but 
should be divided by breaking. 

This artless method of cooking this well-known tuber 
imparts to it a wholesomeness and palatableness that sur- 
pass all the countless a las with which caterers have de- 
luded the public in its preparation. One such example of 
Wild West cooking may suffice in this connection. 

Possibly the chef-d'oeuvre of our supper in Echo Canyon 
was the onions and bacon, the pleasant savor of which was 
doubtless heightened by our thirty-mile ride and tramp in 
an exhilarating atmosphere after a ten weeks' total ab- 
stinence from vegetable diet. 

The well-fed epicure may fail to grasp the full signifi- 
cance of these conditions, but it was expressed with unction 
at a banquet given by a venerable and wealthy bachelor, 
an acquaintance of the writer. Favorable comments were 
passing round the board concerning the excellence of vari- 
ous articles that were being served. One of the guests, who 
had been an intimate friend of the host for nearly a half 
century, facetiously said ; " Gentlemen, even the excellent 
cook for this occasion, and, in fact, all of the modern cater- 
ers fail to impart to the viands they serve the peculiar and 
appetizing flavor that was given by the old mothers, when 
I was a boy, to all their domestic cookery." *'Is that 
so, George? And how old was your palate then.^" was 
the host's prompt repartee. All of which throws light on 
the vagaries of a man's appetite. 

Under favorable conditions Echo Canyon is a charming 
ravine. While our evening campfire was lighting up the 
deep gorge, Ben, Fred and I wandered down the banks of 
Echo Creek, the bright waters of which glide along the base 
of overhanging sandstone cliffs, and we soon guessed why 



298 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

the canyon had received its present name. To the focus 
of the vast concaves that have been scooped from some of 
the cHffs the sound of our voices came back with redoubled 
power, and to other points with softer reverberations 
startHng in effect. It is an unobservant traveler whose at- 
tention has not often been arrested by weird echoes coming 
to his ears from some mountain cliffs, but in the shadows 
of this canyon we discussed the phenomena of echoes while 
interesting demonstrations were being made. We en- 
deavored to calculate the distance of the unseen cliffs that 
sent back the sound, and then speculated upon the effect 
such phenomena would produce upon the minds of an im- 
aginative people like the Greeks of the older period, who 
were ready at any time to pay homage to any deity previ- 
ously unrecognized. It was not strange that they should 
conceive the fiction of the Nymph Echo, who because of 
her babbling was made to pine away into a bodiless voice. 
Nights leisurely spent in these canyons would lead the un- 
tutored mind to let loose its fancy, if it possessed any, and 
people this mountain valley ^ath beings more than human. 

As we looked westward down the canyon we noticed 
a little grove of quaking aspen trees which had sent 
some of their slender branches above the lines of the cliffs 
beyond, so that they were silhouetted against the evening 
sky. Although the air seemed to be perfectly still in the 
valley, the leaves of the aspen trees were vigorously 
shaking, as if some invisible sprites were using them to 
wave signals across the gorge. 

From the ravines now and then there came the dismal 
howl of a timber wolf, and the cry, hurled back from the 
echoing rocks, was repeated after a little delay, as if the 
wolf had been awaiting the returning sound, like enough to 
his own to be the voice of his hungry brother. The little 



THROUGH THE WASATCH MOUNTAINS 299 

stream continued to flow down the valley over its stony 
bed, rushing under overhanging willows, singing its own 
peculiar music, in which there was any melody that one's 
fancy might conceive. 

Amidst these startling sounds we wandered through the 
gloom nearly a mile down the dark, rocky road where we 
decided that it was time to return. Before retracing our 
steps up the canyon we gave a short whoop, which as before 
was echoed back from the other side. To our astonish- 
ment the first echo was quickly followed by a soft, sup- 
pressed whoop and echo, evidently the voice of a girl. We 
repeated our call, but no voice then came back except our 
own. Renewed curiosity impelled us to follow the path- 
way farther down stream. The light of a campfire soon 
broke through the foliage, and it became evident that an- 
other party was in the valley. Approaching the group, we 
discovered to our great surprise and pleasure that it was 
the family of Dr. Brown from whom we had separated at 
Julesburg and who intended to remain in Denver. On 
their arrival at that mining camp, letters were received by 
the doctor urging him to proceed at once to Oregon where 
a friend had located at a place offering an excellent oppor- 
tunity for a physician to practice his profession. 

Echo Canyon, which proved to be so interesting to us and 
in which several days and nights were again spent later in 
the season, is twenty-three miles in length and increases in 
depth as it narrows down to its outlet into the valley of the 
Weber River. At a few points, narrow, steep ravines ra- 
diate from the main canyon, and in their walls a few small 
caves are found. From the summits above the valley the 
views obtained were superb. 

At the break of day after our first night in Echo Canyon, 
we heard the approaching mail coach rattling along the 



300 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

stony road, making its best possible speed down the rapid- 
ly descending grade, turning short curves on the dizzy 
edge of cliffs over which a slight deviation would have 
hurled it upon the rocks below. A glimpse into the open 
windows, as the coach rolled by, revealed the passengers 
within half-reclining in various attitudes, doubtless weary 
with their long ride and evidently unconscious of the grand 
scenery through which they were plunging. 

On the ninth of August we reached the station at the 
mouth of the canyon, and a general rush was made for the 
establishment in which we learned there was a telegraph 
office, the wires having been strung to Salt Lake several 
months previous to our visit. Many weeks had passed 
since we had received any intelligence from the busy world. 

"What's the news from America.'^" asked Ben after we 
had entered the door. 

''Here's the last Salt Lake paper," said the genial proprie- 
tor, as he laid the welcome sheet upon the counter. 

We gathered closely around the journal, and all read the 
first headlines: "The Success of the Prussians Attributed 
to the Needle Gun." 

"What have the Prussians been doing with Needle 
guns.f^" was asked. 

"Fighting, of course, " said the man behind the counter. 
"You probably haven't heard of the European war. Here 
are other papers, " he added, as he laid them before us. 

These disclosed the fact that on the third day of the pre- 
ceding month (July,) a great decisive battle had been 
fought between the Prussians and the Austrians at Konig- 
gratz in Bohemia, now called the battle of Sadowa, in 
which the Austrians had lost 40,000 men. But why had 
we not learned before leaving the states that war existed 
between those nations.^ Further investigation showed 



THROUGH THE WASATCH MOUNTAINS 301 

that the first message through the Atlantic cable, which 
had been quietly laid, was received on July 29th, and it 
announced that a treaty of peace had been concluded be- 
tween Austria and Prussia, a surprise in that day of slow- 
going even in New York. On the same day telegrams of 
congratulation passed between Queen Victoria and Presi- 
dent Johnson on the successful completion of the link be- 
tween the two countries, and these were also quoted in the 
Salt Lake papers. News from Europe at the close of the 
Prussian war reached Salt Lake two weeks more quickly 
than was possible at the beginning of that conflict, which 
lasted only seven weeks. Thus it seemed that although we 
were ten weeks in travel farther from Europe than we were 
when we moved out from Nebraska City, we were twelve 
weeks nearer to it in time of communication than we would 
have been without the telegraph. As we passed along on 
the following days in sight of the cold, silent wires strung 
across that wild country, we were conscious that signals 
were probably flying through them that others could read, 
yet for us there was no message from home that we could 
see or hear. It was, therefore, remarked that if we could 
read the signals which then might be passing through 
space where there were no wires, or could understand even 
the call of the birds that nested in those rocks, and would 
soon migrate, we should be wiser than other men. 

Our trail through the Wasatch Mountains zigzagged at 
acute angles to reach the canyons through which it must 
pass and in a manner which sometimes leaves the observant 
traveler bewildered concerning the direction in which he is 
going. The average immigrant simply follows such a trail 
in the abiding faith that it will come out somewhere. 

From Echo our trail bore sharply to east of south, thence 
westward into Silver Creek Canyon, thence southward 



302 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

through that gorge, thence westward through Parley's 
Canyon, at all times following the sinuosities of mountain 
streams and crooked valleys. 

Beyond a little flouring mill on the Weber River we 
pitched an attractive camp, where Fred found water on a 
mountain side. 

Some experiences in Silver Creek and Parley's Canyon 
will be mentioned in connection with another trip through 
these ranges of mountains. On the morning of August 11th 
I stood guard from midnight on the western limits of the 
beautiful Parley's Park. At 2,45 a. m. as prearranged, the 
camp was roused that we might make an early start. At 
noon we lunched on a high cliff near the west end of Par- 
ley's Canyon, a point not reached by the present road. In 
the distance, the waters of Great Salt Lake sparkled in the 
sunlight and between it and us was spread that interesting 
valley, which once was an alkaline desert soon to be made 
to blossom as the rose. In its bosom was the new City of 
the Saints, which we entered near the close of the day. 



CHAPTER XXIV 

Why a Faik City Arose in a Desert 

THE history of Utah is a history of the Mormons, 
but that history, as is well known, strikes its 
roots much further East. It is not the purpose 
of this story to give a chronicle of Mormonism, 
nevertheless, as some startling events have marked the 
birth of nearly every religious sect, a cursive glance at the 
beginnings of Mormonism seems necessary to introduce us 
into the atmosphere of Mormon life and make our later ob- 
servations better understood. The brief account here 
given is largely the result of personal investigation and of 
conference with old citizens in the early centers of Mor- 
mon influence. 

The revelation made to Joseph Smith on the hill Cumo- 
rah, near the village of Manchester, in the state of New 
York; the delivery to him by Moroni, a messenger from 
God, of the book written on plates of gold, also a key with 
which to translate the mystic characters engraved there- 
on, — all of which was alleged to have taken place in the 
year 1827, naturally became the subject of much comment, 
chiefly of an adverse nature. 

A few persons accepted as a divine revelation the book 
as translated, which was finally crystallized into the Book 
of MormoUy now held by that people as a part of the Holy 
Word and equal in importance and authority with the Old 
and New Testaments. 

803 



S04 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

After suffering many persecutions, during which the 
disciples of Smith gradually increased in numbers, the lead- 
ers of the New Church practically abandoned the state of 
New York, a number of them reaching Independence, 
Missouri, in the early part of the year 1831, where in obedi- 
ence to another revelation they established a Zion, a term 
which appears to be adopted for their various centers of 
religious activity. Almost concurrently with the move- 
ment to Missouri, a colony of the scattered New York 
Saints settled in Kirtland, Ohio. In both of these Zions 
monthly journals were published to represent the interests 
and claims of the New Church. Temples were also built, 
the one in Kirtland being dedicated in 1836. Records 
show that the Saints held their property in common. In 
Independence and other towns in Missouri, soon after their 
settlement by the Mormons, numerous adherents of the 
new faith were mobbed, tarred and feathered. After con- 
tinued tribulations, which in the severe winter of 1839 de- 
veloped into open warfare, they were driven from the state, 
leaving their possessions chiefly in the control of their per- 
secutors. 

They were soon heard of in western Illinois, which they 
reached after being goaded at every step by the oppo- 
sition and derision of the former settlers. Nauvoo, or the 
Holy City, as it was called by the Saints, became the center 
of their proselyting in that state. There they erected a 
temple, which in many respects was remarkable, partly be- 
cause of the fact that it is said to have cost $1,000,000. It 
is described in detail in Times and Seasons, Vol. II. The 
cornerstone was laid on April 6, 1841. They also estab- 
lished a university and built several factories. Being in- 
dustrious, they became prosperous and increased in num- 
bers until, as stated in Smucker's Mormonism, their church- 




m :S 



lOSEPH SMITH 



WHY A FAIR CITY AROSE IN A DESERT 305 

es in and around Nauvoo embraced from ten to twenty 
thousand members. The Millennial Star^ Vol. V, reports 
more than that number in attendance at the October con- 
ference in Nauvoo, in 1844. 

During these years they claim to have been guided at all 
times by divine revelations, which were given to their lead- 
ers and are published in their journals. Having faith in 
the authority by which they were being led, they acted as 
a unit in all matters, and thus became a power to be reck- 
oned with in the political affairs of the state. This subor- 
dination of local civil government to the head of a new re- 
ligious sect, and especially to one which its adherents rec- 
ognized as a theocracy, seemed contrary to the spirit of 
American institutions and was repugnant to the ideas of 
the early Illinois pioneers. 

It was especially odious to those political leaders on 
whom the Mormons would not unite their votes. This 
situation intensified the hatred that had previously met 
them and they were soon confronted by fresh opposition. 
It would appear from the text of letters addressed by Smith 
to Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun, prior to the election 
in 1844, that he was arrogant in a high degree. In those 
letters he demanded from the candidates a statement of 
what their attitude toward the Mormons would be in case 
of their election. Some journalists characterized the 
demand as insolent and yet suffragettes, labor unionists 
and other equally respectable leaders frequently make 
similar demands. 

On the 12th of July, 1843, a revelation was said to have 
been made to Joseph Smith and was duly published. A 
copy is given by Bancroft, (page 160), sanctioning by di- 
vine authority the practice of polygamy. This declaration 
seemed to afford sufficient grounds for a renewed war of ex- 



306 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

termination. Then followed the bitter conflict between 
the citizens represented by mobs and the state militia on 
the one side, and the Mormons on the other side, which cul- 
minated in the assassination of Joseph Smith, the prophet, 
and Hyrum, his brother, by a mob of about one hundred 
and fifty disguised men, in the prison in Carthage, Illinois, 
on June 27, 1844, where they were awaiting trial on an in- 
dictment for treason. On July 25th, Governor Thomas 
Ford issued a proclamation to the people of the county 
(Hancock) denouncing mob violence. The governor's 
paper is given in The Star of October, 1844. 

This event occurred during a carnival of crime and mur- 
der in the country around Nauvoo, all of which has given 
rise to such conflicting opinions that the investigator, after 
conversing with numerous witnesses and reading various 
journals of the time, cannot fail to conclude that both 
Mormon and Gentile desperadoes infested that part of the 
state. Edward Bonney, in a little volume entitled The 
Banditti of the PrairieSy gives a thrilling record of crime 
which he, as an officer, assisted in bringing to light, and 
which resulted in the execution of a number of Mormon 
murderers, but I discovered that he himself was brought to 
trial under an indictment for issuing counterfeit money. 
A change of venue carried the case to a Gentile court, where 
he made a successful defense. Recrimination, robbery, 
riot, and organized resistance by both parties in this war 
continued until the final eviction of the Mormons from the 
state. Fourteen years had now passed since the New 
Church was organized by a few obscure men. At the time 
of the assassination of Joseph and Hyrum Smith the Mor- 
mon enrollment of Nauvoo numbered thousands. 

The history of other new religious faiths was repeated. 



WHY A FAIR CITY AROSE IN A DESERT 307 

Mormonism was strengthened by the persecutions through 
which its enemies aimed at its extermination. 

"Strive with the half -starved lion for its prey — 

Lesser the risk 
Than rouse the slumbering spirit of wild fanaticism." 

In August, 1844, Brigham Young, in accordance with a 
revelation said to have been received by him, declared him- 
self to be the successor of Joseph Smith, and in December 
he was elected by the great assembly at Nauvoo, president 
of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which 
was the name officially adopted for the new society. Sid- 
ney Rigdon was also an active candidate for the office. 
His defeat was humiliating. He was tried, convicted, and 
condemned. 

Previous to the death of Smith there appears to have 
been but one organized separation from the parent church, 
but Young and Rigdon were not the only persons who laid 
claim to the mantle of the prophet. Smith. The succession 
was bitterly contested by James J. Strang, who aside from 
Brigham Young, was perhaps the first and most formidable 
aspirant for office, partly because of his powers of leader- 
ship, and partly because he declared that at the moment of 
Smith's death he received a revelation that vested in him 
divine authority to become leader of the Saints. But little 
seems to have been written concerning the remarkable 
career of this Mormon prophet, who for several years exer- 
cised a dictatorship over his few thousands of followers 
which in rigor hardly has a parallel in our history. Some 
letters from his followers, and among them those of Bishop 
George Miller, have come into my hands, and these give 
some history of the Strangite movement. Miller had been 



308 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

appointed by Young to organize the association to erect 
the Nauvoo house and temple, but finally joined Strang 
and opposed Young. Neither these letters nor the records 
in the historical society are so complete and convincing as 
are the statements of Strang's own people. 

It has been my privilege to be granted several interviews 
with the one person who doubtless knows more than any 
other now living concerning the life of the so-called king 
and prophet, Strang, and of the autocratic rule of his 
island dominion. It was her husband, Thomas Bedford, 
who put the final quietus on that monarch's authority. 

Sitting with her daughter and me in their neat little cot- 
tage in Northern Michigan, she modestly consented to give 
the full story, which they both stated had never before been 
given in detail even to her own children, but, as she said, 
the time had come when all the truth should be given, and 
some of that truth had to that time for various reasons been 
withheld. 

Mrs. Bedford descended from hardy Connecticut stock, 
and at the age of seventy -six abounded in vigor, and yet 
she was serene in temperament. Her statements in re- 
viewing the thrilling history of her experiences in the 
Northern Empire were clear and definite, and she never 
hesitated in giving either names or dates. 

In the winter of 1844, Mrs. Bedford passed through the 
Endowment house at Nauvoo. After suffering with the 
Saints in their various viscissitudes of fortune and fate in 
Nauvoo and Nebraska, in the year 1850 and at the age of 
sixteen, she entered with her parents the Strang colony on 
Beaver Island and spent five years in that fellowship. 

James J. Strang was born in Scipio, N. Y., in the year 
1813, and was educated for the practice of law. He had 
been a Baptist until he became interested in Mormon 




THE KING OF BEAVER ISLAND 



WHY A FAIR CITY AROSE IN A DESERT 309 

affairs and at Nauvoo, when Smith was at the zenith of 
his authority, he was baptized into the Mormon Church 
and soon became an elder. His complexion was florid, his 
hair was red, and he wore a glass eye, but he was a con- 
vincing speaker. 

As the result of an alleged revelation he established 
Zion at Spring Prairie (now Voree) Wisconsin, where (so 
he often stated to his disciples) he discovered eighteen me- 
tallic plates containing valuable history. It appears that 
these were never submitted to the inspection of his people. 

In 1847 with a few followers he established a new Zion 
on Beaver Island, in Lake Michigan, to which point con- 
siderable additional Mormon immigration was attracted 
in 1849. It was his declared purpose to make this island 
the center of Mormon power. In 1850 the government of 
his colony was established on Mormon lines by the Union 
of the church and civil government, and on July 8th of 
the same year he was formally crowned King by George 
Adams, president of the twelve. I find this union of church 
and state to be authorized, and the argument therefor 
presented in Times and Seasons, 1844. 

The assumption of civil authority by the Strangites re- 
sulted in much friction between the Mormons and their 
opponents, though not so serious as what arose from a simi- 
lar cause in Illinois. The fact that the number of votes 
cast on Beaver Island was equal to its entire population 
seems to be conceded. It is, however, the inside life of that 
people that is of present interest. 

Strang had one wife, named Mary, when his kingdom 
was established, but a revelation that he announced to his 
people decreed polygamy to be a divine institution. He 
accordingly added four wives to his household, the last 
two, Phoebe and Delia Wright, who were cousins, being 



SIO THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

taken on the same day, as the sequel of a picnic held by 
the Saints on an island in Pine Lake, which in memory of 
the happy event was called Holy Island, by which name 
it is still known. Two daughters from his second and 
third marriages were named respectively Eveline and 
Evangeline in honor of whom two important townships 
in Michigan still bear the name given by Strang. 

Strang was the father of twelve children, four of whom 
were born after his death and were the children of his last 
four wives. They all lived together in the one home. John 
R. Forster in his report, 1855, on his survey of Beaver 
Island, which appears in Michigan Historical Society Re- 
"ports. Vol. IX, states that Strang had six wives. My in- 
formant, who was thoroughly familiar with the family and 
home says that this statement is incorrect, but that 
Strang had said in her hearing that he would be a father 
to the fatherless and a husband to the widow, and one 
mourner did sojourn for a time in his hospitable log cabin. 

Each of Strang's twelve apostles also took more than 
one wife, two of the apostles having three wives each. 

All weddings were private, none but officers who were to 
perform the ceremony being present. The temple in which 
all these religious functions were performed, and where 
services were held was built of pine logs, hewed square. 

In accordance with early Mormon teachings the use of 
tea, coffee, tobacco, and spirituous liquors was interdicted. 
The payment of tithes to the King, as well as the first 
fruits of field and flocks was required. One of the earliest 
edicts of the King prescribed the dress that must be worn 
by his people. The women w^ere required to wear the style 
of costume which Miss Bloomer endeavored later to intro- 
duce. The men were commanded to wear an equally dis- 



WHY A FAIR CITY AROSE IN A DESERT 311 

tinctive garb consisting in part of a short jacket, with no 
skirt or tail to the coat. 

Mrs. Bedford states also that from infancy and during 
the first four years under Strang's dominion she religiously 
conformed to all the decrees of the church. One day, how- 
ever, she was discovered in her home by the prophet when 
for a brief period she was wearing an ordinary dress. The 
Prophet King at once declared that the rule pertaining to 
dress must be enforced, or the people must walk over his 
dead body. The strong, independent spirit of the woman 
rose within her, and the beginning of the end had come. 
Bedford had previously been ordered to appropriate some 
fishing nets, which were the property of others. A boat 
had been stolen, and Bedford, who was a sturdy English- 
man, would speak the truth, which reflected upon the in- 
tegrity of certain of Strang's apostles, whereupon the King 
caused his officers to enforce upon Bedford a brutal punish- 
ment with whips. These were secured later and were sent 
to a museum in Detroit. 

The rule of a tyrant is quite certain in time to be brought 
to an end by some lover of liberty and justice. 

Night came down upon Bedford's home far back upon 
Beaver Island, and husband and wife conversed together 
concerning the wrongs and oppression of the King^s des- 
potic rule. Strang had preached that no bullet could 
enter his body. 

"If you are going to shoot Strang go now and do it," 
said the indignant young wife, and Bedford went out into 
the darkness. It was long past the midnight hour of June 
17th when the waiting wife heard a pounding at the barred 
door of their log cabin. 

"Who is there.?" 

"Friends." 



Sl2 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

She stood with an axe in her hands prepared to defend 
herself, her children, and her home. Stating what defence 
she would make, if necessary, she told her visitors that she 
must know their names, before they would be admitted. 
On becoming assured that they were marines from the gov- 
ernment steamer, Michigan, that her husband was aboard 
their ship, and that they had come to rescue her, she im- 
barred the door. A supper had been laid upon the table 
awaiting her husband's return, from which the sailors were 
glad to take refreshment. 

Bundling her two little ones and a few light effects, they 
fled to the steamer before the King's officers reached the 
house. 

Strang had been duly shot. In a few days a passing 
steamer carried him to Racine, from which place he was 
conveyed to Voree, where on July 8th he died from the 
effects of his wound. 

Bedford was taken to Mackinac and placed in an un- 
locked jail with a friendly guard, but boldly returned with 
his wife to Beaver Island. There was no recognized leader. 
The spell was broken. The Saints scattered, some in one 
direction and some in another, as opportunity offered, by 
passing vessels. Women wept as each party embarked. 
It was well known that at whatever port they might be 
landed their peculiar dress, which marked them as dis- 
ciples of the despised and now fallen prophet, would invite 
the searching gaze and contemptuous jeers of rude and 
unsympathetic onlookers. Such was in fact their fate. 
Thus was closed the chapter of the Strangite defection. 

An old pioneer has related to the writer the story of the 
gallows, which was erected on the Michigan beach by the 
Mormons and which he cut down. Upon it was suspended 
the effigy of an obnoxious Gentile, which is preserved by its 
prototype to this day. 



WHY A FAIR CITY AROSE IN A DESERT 313 

At the time of the dispersion of the Strangites Brigham 
Young had long since estabHshed himself as the hierarch 
of the Mormon Church, and to that master mind was dele- 
gated supreme authority in conducting a movement that 
has hardly a parallel in history. 

The occasion for prompt, energetic, and sagacious lead- 
ership arose when in the autumn of 1845 armed mobs of so- 
called Illinois citizens descended upon Mormon settlements 
in the vicinity of Nauvoo and burned stacks of grain, and 
other property, also a score of homes, driving men and help- 
less women and children of Mormon families from their 
own farms out into the darkness. These brutal demon- 
strations were repeated by the destruction of mills, facto- 
ries, and business property in Nauvoo, accompanied by 
demands that the Mormons must leave the country within 
sixty days. 

These facts are confirmed by Bancroft, who also quotes 
many other authorities in verification. Governor Ford's 
proclamation which followed the riots, embraced the state- 
ment that prior to the outbreaks Hancock County, then 
occupied in part by the Mormons, was as free from crime 
as any county in the state of Illinois. 

The eviction of the Mormons from Illinois and other 
states, even though they were despised, would seem to have 
been as lawless and barbarous as has been the expulsion of 
Jews from Russia or Huguenots from France. When 
thousands of Mormon women and children wept as they 
turned their backs in flight upon the beautiful temple just 
completed and which two years later was also burned by 
vandals, it was like the sigh of the Moor when from the 
distance he cast his last glance toward the glorious Alham- 
bra and Granada from which his people had been driven. 

The Mormons were now again in exile. And now 



314 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

came the chosen president and prophet of that church, the 
Moses who essayed to lead his homeless, impoverished 
followers to a promised land. The exodus of this people 
to an undetermined part of the far West unknown to them 
cannot fail to excite the admiration of their bitterest enemy 
because of the marked abilities and masterly generalship 
displayed by their leader. Nearly every obstacle that the 
mind can conceive seemed to confront them. Their homes 
were destroyed, or abandoned for slight compensation and 
beset by profane mobs that were often brutal, and doubt- 
less inferior in moral qualities to the Mormons themselves, 
and certainly not fair representatives of the industrious 
citizenship of the state. The evicted Saints moved west- 
ward toward the Missouri River. We have read the pa- 
thetic story of their subsequent wanderings, and I, myself, 
have heard it from the quivering lips of men and women 
who were apparently honest and sincere. While suffering 
from hunger and disease, with inadequate means for aiding 
their aflSicted helpmates and children, the objects of gen- 
eral derision and hatred, they turned their backs upon the 
homes which they had built and loved, and like a con- 
quered tribe of Indians, (but less respected than vanquished 
savages,) they turned their weary steps toward the setting 
sun. 

A great emergency often calls forth an able leader. With 
a base of operations in Eastern Nebraska, Brigham Young 
quickly laid plans looking to the removal of his people to 
Northern Mexico, which then embraced the present terri- 
tory of Utah and had been brought to his notice by Fre- 
mont's explorations. He would there establish his new 
empire in that far-away wilderness, in a foreign country, 
and be at peace. In the spring of 1847, he personally led 
his first party of 132 Saints across the plains and over the 



WHY A FAIR C [TY AROSE IN A DESERT 315 

mountains, and on July 21st, from the foot of Emigration 
Canyon they beheld for the first time the sparkling waters 
of Great Salt Lake, which in the following February, as the 
result of the war with Mexico, was ceded to the United 
States, with the territory south as far as the Rio Grande. 
Less than two decades later our own little party also 
descended into that valley. The stirring events of their 
past history and experiences were then fresh and I may say 
burning in the memory of that generation of Saints. We 
were also more or less familiar with the history of the Mor- 
mons, as gathered from various authorities, and while in- 
spired with admiration for the heroism of their pioneers, 
we doubtless shared in the prevailing prejudice against 
what was believed to be a misguided people. 

The purpose of this brief review of events that led to 
the settlement of Utah, is to enable the reader to share our 
preconceived ideas, while we spent the remainder of the 
summer and autunrn with the Saints. Our business, on 
the arrival of our big train, would bring us into relations 
with many men of affairs and with the heads of the church. 
These relations were doubtless more unrestrained and cor- 
dial than they would have been, if in return for their cour- 
tesy we had been expected to publish a literary broadside 
of caricature such as they had become familiar with. As 
a fact, a few journalists had reached the city and after two 
or three days spent in sight-seeing, some of those writers 
had seemed able to arrive at conclusions concerning men 
and affairs in Utah quite satisfactory to themselves and 
with abundant material for humor and ridicule. It has 
been my privilege to attend religious services in many tem- 
ples in the Orient and elsewhere, where millions of pre- 
sumably devout worshippers bend the knee in submission 
to divine authority, and offer their prayers more fervently 



316 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

and humbly than I am wont to do, and strange as I may 
have thought it that the faith of those people was not the 
same as mine, I would not now discuss Mormonism as a 
religious belief because my judgment may be biased by the 
strong convictions inherited from my Puritan ancestry. 
Theologians trained in religious thought and utterance 
have already passed judgment with the usual result. 

As the one overshadowing fact in Constantinople is Mo- 
hammedanism and the Sultan, so in Salt Lake City it was 
Mormonism and Brigham Young. It was, therefore, not 
strange that on the day after our arrival, which was the 
Sabbath, our footsteps were directed toward the square, 
which was the center of the religious life of the Mormons, 
and in which was the bowery where their great services 
were held on Sabbath afternoons. The present temple and 
tabernacle had not then been built. We were assigned to 
favorable seats near the platform. The bowery was a rude 
structure built on posts set into the ground and covered 
with bushes to shade the worshippers from the sun. It was 
situated near the old tabernacle and was used during the 
summer months. We were informed that it afforded seat- 
ing capacity for 8000 persons. Having come early to the 
services, we waited, and watched the arrival of the wor- 
shippers until nearly all the seats appeared to be occupied, 
and we glanced with great interest over the vast assem- 
blage. 

I had been a regular attendant upon the morning serv- 
ices of our little Congregational Church in the East and 
had been inspired by the vast audiences convened and the 
eloquent sermons preached by Henry Ward Beecher in his 
great tabernacle in Brooklyn, and I knew something of 
church life and the means often adopted for bringing to- 
gether audiences for religious worship. What, therefore, 




BRIGHAM YOUNG 



WHY A FAIR CITY AROSE IN A DESERT 317 

I asked myself, was the power or influence that had at- 
tracted this vast gathering of thousands of worshippers 
to a rude sanctuary in that far-away town in a mountain 
wilderness ? 

"Is this an ordinary Sabbath service?" I asked a man 
who occupied a seat near by. 

'*0 yes, this is about an average attendance." 

*'It would seem to represent about half the entire popu- 
lation of the city. Are we not correct in that estimate.'^" 

"Yes, but there are a few people here from outlying dis- 
tricts, who attend these services." 

At about that moment a man arose from among the few 
who occupied the platform. He was above the average in 
height, with broad shoulders, a deep chest, and a strong, 
well-knit frame. His movements were indicative of great 
physical strength and vigor. He had cold, gray 
eyes, thin compressed lips, a firm mouth, and a broad, 
massive forehead. He was dressed in plain business 
clothes, and his bearing indicated that he was master of the 
occasion. It was Brigham Young. 

The thought at once comes into the mind that if the Mor- 
mon doctrines were true there stood before us a man in 
whom was combined all that there once was in Moses as a 
leader, and in Elijah as a prophet. Suppliants kneel and 
kiss the ring of the Roman pontiff. The Mussulman trem- 
bles if he approaches the Sultan, yet neither of those eccle- 
siastic sovereigns arrogates to himself higher authority 
than was assumed by this president of the Mormon Church 
except that being within the limits of a modern republic 
the power of any church is in some degree restrained. 
Moreover, Brigham Young was not an aristocrat, and al- 
though his predecessor^ Joseph, by virtue of his office as 
president of the church, was Mayor of Nauvoo, and Brig- 



318 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

ham as far as possible was also the political head of his peo- 
ple, yet he was not hedged about by courts, princes, or pre- 
lates, but mingled with the people and was drawing thou- 
sands to himself. 

We are all in some degree hero worshippers. As a youth 
I had gone far to listen to addresses made by some of our 
noted orators, chiefly because of the fame they had achieved. 
With equal pleasure I had heard the voices of Emerson, 
Whittier, Saxe, Bryant, and others who had become dis- 
tinguished through their writings. Our great generals also 
had been objects of intense interest. On the other hand, 
we all remember our associations with some men whose 
acquaintance had been formed before their achievements 
had made them objects of public notice, and we possibly 
remember that we then gave them but little consideration. 
The prophets were rejected, the apostles were persecuted, 
yet if one of them should now appear and be recognized he 
would be honored by the millions. 

Before us in that Mormon tabernacle stood a strong 
man assuming the highest authority that it is possible for 
man to claim. Thousands of people were flocking to his 
standard possibly in greater numbers than came at any 
time to the apostles of our Saviour. 

After the first service that we attended in the bowery, 
we asked of each other the question, "What will be the 
verdict concerning Brigham Young in the ages to come.f^*' 

On each Sabbath when in the city I was present at the 
Mormon services. President Young spoke on each occa- 
sion with but one exception, that being a Sabbath when he 
was absent on an important convocation in another town. 

He taught that the Book of Mormon is a continuation 
of the history and revelations of the Bible. Jesus was recog- 
nized as having been one of the prophets, therefore the Mor- 



WHY A FAIR CITY AROSE IN A DESERT 319 

mons profess to be Christians. His sermons treated large- 
ly on practical affairs of his church and people, even to 
matters pertaining to dress. He urged habits of economy 
in household affairs. Now and then when addressing his 
great audiences, all of whom listened to his utterances with 
rapt attention, Brigham emphasized a point by bringing 
down his powerful fist heavily upon his desk and then paus- 
ing, as if to indicate that the fact presented was firmly 
nailed down. As an apostle of temperance in the use of 
intoxicants and narcotics he was uncompromising. Al- 
though many of his people had come from England, Wales, 
Scandinavia, and other European countries, we did not 
see an intoxicated person in Salt Lake City. One saloon 
only, so far as we could learn, existed in the year 1866, and 
that was said to be owned by one Charles Trowbridge, 
who consented to pay the required license of $500.00 per 
month, which it had been supposed would be prohibitory. 

During our visit the relations between the Mormons and 
the government were not friendly. In one sermon, while 
dealing with that subject, Brigham said, " If we are ever 
obliged to leave this valley, we will leave it as desolate as 
we found it," to which the people replied, "Amen." 

Heber C. Kimball, who was first councillor to President 
Young and Chief Justice of the State of Deseret, a man to 
whom was conceded a high character for sincerity and in- 
tegrity, in one of his addresses in Brigham's presence, said 
that he and the president once traveled 500 miles, and all 
the money they had during the trip was $13.50, yet they 
paid out $16.00 for every 100 miles of travel. This he said 
was the Lord's work, for every time they wanted money 
they had only to put their hands into their pockets, and 
the required money was there. This statement was ap- 
parently offered for the purpose of inspiring faith in the 
hearts of their missionaries. 



320 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

As is well known, nearly every Mormon was required to 
serve for a prescribed term in such mission work as was 
assigned to him, and must go without purse or scrip. The 
effect of this system is that their church is represented 
economically and faithfully in nearly every part of the civ- 
ilized world. 

Their messengers go with the Bible and the Book of 
Mormon as their guide. We naturally gave to this last- 
named revelation a somewhat careful perusal and confess 
that we found nothing in it that in our judgment compared 
favorably with the First Chapter of Genesis in dignity of 
style or clearness in expression, no words as assuring to 
the believer or as poetic in style as those found in the 23d 
Psalm, nor any thoughts as exalted as are written in the 
14th Chapter of John. Its biblical style imparts to the 
book a semblance of antiquity. It is either a history of 
races concerning which there had been no known recent 
record until the alleged discovery of the golden plates, or 
it is a clever fabrication accepted by hundreds of thou- 
sands as the truth. 

We returned from Sabbath to Sabbath to obtain all the 
light possible from the lips of the prophet concerning this 
mysterious revelation. Now and then one might observe 
some newly arrived doubter, just in from the mountains, 
who gave expressions of contempt on listening to the expo- 
sition of some chapter. We have also heard the tittering 
of light-hearted youths in the old Methodist prayer meet- 
ings in the States. 

Brigham Young seldom indulged in flights of rhetoric, 
and his teachings were often given in the form of commands 
and not as advice. He frequently dealt rather at length 
on the social and domestic affairs of his people, urging in- 
dustry, temperance, economy, and thrift, and advocated 



WHY A FAIR CITY AROSE IN A DESERT 321 

a simple, modest life similar to that which was required in 
his own family, where each wife attended to her own domes- 
tic affairs. In referring to his wives, which he did frequent- 
ly, he used the term "my women." This expression fell 
very unpleasantly upon our ears unaccustomed to its use. 
We were informed that the terms "my man" and '*my 
woman" have long been in use in other languages, even 
with the ancient Hebrews, but the phrase does not strike 
the right chord where woman occupies the position she 
does in America. 

The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was administered 
each Sabbath. Water was used instead of wine, and along 
with the bread was carried round by officers of the church, 
during the delivery of the afternoon address. There 
seemed to be no effort to make it the solemn occasion that 
other churches make of the communion service. 

In the minds of the curious there is a peculiar interest in 
the complex family life of a people where numerous fami- 
lies center in a single head. Although an occasional guest 
at the president's home, I found it impossible to learn with 
certainty how many persons were comprised in his family, 
and much diversity of opinion seemed to exist in the minds 
of those who would be most likely to know the facts. On 
many semi-public occasions I have seen sixteen of his 
wives and was led to believe that to be the number then 
living. In 1869, after the completion of the railroad, when 
the Boston Board of Trade visited the city, in reply to a 
direct question made by one of the visitors, Brigham stated 
that he had 16 wives and 49 children. In the Utah notes 
MS., the statement is made that this was the first occasion 
on which he publicly gave the statistics. During our stay 
I noted such information on this subject as could conven- 
iently be obtained. 



322 



THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 



These notes have been revised after reference to some 
later ojfficial publications and being now substantially cor- 
rect may be of interest, especially as the names of his con- 
sorts are also given. 

The following is a summary of the names of the wives of 
Brigham Young, the dates of their births as fully as can be 
ascertained, also the dates of their marriages to the presi- 
dent, also the number of children resulting from each union. 



BOBN 



MARRIED TO 
BRIGHAM 



DIED 



NO. OF 
CHILD- 
REN 



Miriam Works 

Mary Ann Angell 

Lucy Decker 

Harriet E.G. 
Campbell 

Augusta Adams 

Clara Decker 

Louisa Beman 

Clara C. Ross 

Emily Dow 
Partridge 
Susan Snively 

Olive F. Frost 

Emmeline Free 
Margaret Price 

Naama K. Carter 
Ellen Rockwood 



Oct.8, 1804 
Cayuga Co, 
N. Y. State 
June 8, 1803 
Seneca, N. Y. 
May 17, 1822 
Phelps, N. Y. 
Nov. 7, 1824 
Whitesbor- 
ough,N.Y. 

1802 

Lynn, Mass. 
July 23, 1828 
Phelps, N.Y. 
Feb. 7, 1815 
Livonia, N. Y. 
June 16, 1814 
N. Y. State 
Feb. 28, 1824 
Painesville, O. 
Oct. — 1815 
Woodstock, Va. 
July 24, 1816 
Bethel, Me. 

Apr. 19, 1823 
Ashton, Pa. 
Mar. 20, 1821 
Wilmington, 
Mass. 

1829 

Holliston, Mass. 



Aug. 8, 1824 Sept. 8, 1832 2 

Feb. 18, 1834 June 27, 1882 6 

June 16, 1842 Jan. 24, 1890 7 

Nov. 2, 1843 1 



Nov. 2, 1843 1886 

May 8, 1844 Jan. 5, 1889 5 

1844 Mar. 15, 1850 4 

Widow of Joseph 
Sept. 10,1844 Oct. 17, 1858 4 
Widow of Joseph 

Sept. 1844 7 

Sealed for time 

Nov. 2, 1844 Nov. 20, 1892 

Feb. — 1845 Oct. 6, 1845 
Widow of Joseph 
Apr. 30, 1845 July 17, 1875 10 
1845 1 

Jan. 26, 1846 

Sealed for time 

Jan. . . 1846 Jan. 6, 1866 



WHY A FAIR CITY AROSE IN A DESERT 323 



Maria Lawrence Jan 1846 Died in Nauvoo 

Canada Widow of Joseph 

Martha Bowker Jan 1822 Jan 1846 Sept. . . 1890 

Mt.HoUy.N.Y. 

Margaret M. Alley Dec. 19, 1825 Oct. . . . 1846 Nov. . . . 1852 2 

Lynn, Mass. 
Lucy Bigelow Oct. 3, 18 30 Mar. . . . 1847 3 

Charleston, 111. 
Zina Diantha Jan. 31, 1821 

Huntington Watertown, 1848(?)Had been sealed 

N. Y. to Joseph at age of 17 

Eliza Roxey Snow Jan. 21, 1804 June 29, 1849 Dec. 5, 1887 

Becket, Mass. Widow of Joseph 

Eliza Burgess Oct. 3, 1850 

Harriet Barney England 1 

divorced from former hus- 
band 

Harriet Amelia Aug. 23, 1838 Jan. 24, 1863 

Folsom Buffalo, N. Y. 

Mary Van Cott Feb. 2, 1844 Jan. 8, 1865 Jan. 5, 1884 1 

Elmira, N. Y. 

Ann Eliza Webb 1844 Apr. 6, 1868 Had been di- 

niinois vorced from former husband 

It will be observed that of the twenty-six wives who 
were from time to time united to Brigham Young, sixteen 
were added to his household within a period of forty months, 
five were united to him in each of two years; two of the 
wives, Lucy and Clara Decker, are said to have been 
sisters; six of the number were widows of Joseph Smith, 
the first president; eleven were born in the state of New 
York; and six were born in New England. Our investi- 
gations also disclose the fact that two of Brigham's 
wives were women who had been divorced from former 
husbands, also that one of his wives, the attractive Zina 
Diantha, had been sealed when a young girl to the 
prophet. Smith. It also shows that two of the wives 
were not regularly married but were sealed for time to 
President Young. These peculiar and varied relations 
will be referred to in another chapter. 



CHAPTER XXV 

Some Inside Glimpses of Mormon Affairs 

THAT fellow is a Danite, one of Brigham's de- 
stroying angels," remarked a man who formed 
part of a group with whom I and some of our 
boys were sitting in front of the Salt Lake Hotel. 
Our informant, who was a guest at the hotel, 
knew that as we had recently arrived any startling informa- 
tion concerning local affairs would certainly be received 
with interest. As he made the announcement, he raised his 
eyebrows and cast a knowing glance toward the object of 
his remark, an unshaven, dark-haired man, who was slowly 
passing on the sidewalk. Assuming that we were ignorant 
of the functions of the destroying angels, he informed us, 
with an air indicating familiarity with the Mormon under- 
world, that Brigham had a lot of those fellows who were 
sworn to do anything, even to kill at the Prophet's 
command. 

"I'm glad to see one of 'em," interjected a member of 
the group, *' and say, friend, is it true that Brigham has a 
pile of money he has got one way and another?" 

"O yes," replied our oracle, "he has eight million in the 
Bank of England. " 

"Yes, I've heard that, but is it in pounds, dollars, or 
shillings? It makes a damn sight of difference which." 

324 



INSIDE GLIMPSES OF MORMON AFFAIRS 325 

"I ain't sure which, but it is eight million and he has got 
ten thousand cattle and horses over on Church Island. " 

"He can afford to keep a lot of wives," said another. 

"Wives! do you know that he has them in every part 
of Utah? He has got more than a thousand scattered 
around. " 

All these statements and many more of like import were 
received with more or less credulity, although the man who 
introduced the conversation just cited was said to be a pro- 
fessional gambler and an habitue of Trowbridge's saloon. 

We visited Camp Douglass and other points in and 
around the city until we were surfeited with knowledge 
concerning the villainy said to be practiced by the Mor- 
mons. These and many other tales equally startling 
and absurd were spread throughout the states by return- 
ing travelers who had escaped from that alleged abode of 
assassins. 

While our party was gathered in a quiet room in a 
hotel one evening after we had been reviewing the results 
of our observations and the statements heard upon the 
streets and elsewhere, Ben with much gravity outlined 
in a single sentence what seemed to be a wise and digni- 
fied policy for us to pursue. 

"Now here we are," said Ben, "among a people who 
are bitterly divided among themselves. We don't have 
to be Mormons, but I see no sense in vilifying and de- 
nouncing them as hundreds are doing on the streets, who 
don't know any more theology or facts than we do. Let's 
be fair and unprejudiced and avoid controversies on these 
local affairs. I believe the men who are doing most of 
the talking are a heap worse than any Mormons I have 
seen." 

During that summer and autumn of 1866 the relations 



326 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

between the Mormons and the United States Govern- 
ment were exceedingly strained, and some unfortunate 
events occurred which increased the tension. The few 
Gentiles then in the city who were in any sense not 
friendly in their attitude toward the local government 
(which was Mormon) were regarded with disfavor by the 
Saints — and for evident reasons. This was especially 
the case, if their relations with the army or United States 
officials were intimate. An anomalous condition existed 
in which even the Jews, with all the others who were not 
Mormons, were known as Gentiles! The Gentile was to 
the Mormon what the Giaour is to the Mussulman. 

General Connor, who had been in command of the 
United States forces stationed at Camp Douglass, which 
post overlooked the city, had held the situation firmly. 
The antagonism between him and the Mormon authori- 
ties had at all times been generally recognized by all 
parties. Soon after the withdrawal of General Connor, 
and in the spring preceding our arrival, Newton Brass- 
field, recently arrived from Nevada, married a wife of one 
of the elders of the Church, who was then absent on a 
foreign mission. 

On the 2nd of April Brassfield was shot dead by some 
person who escaped without detection. The assassina- 
tion occurred as Brassfield was about to enter his hotel, 
and caused the situation to become still more acute, as it 
was the general impression that the act was committed 
by order of the Church authorities. So far as I could 
learn, Brassfield was not a man of exalted character, and 
any marriage under like circumstances might have been 
followed by similar results, had it occurred in another 
community. Reports were circulated that two other 
similar attacks upon Gentiles had been made within a 



INSIDE GLIMPSES OF MORMON AFFAIRS 327 

period of three weeks, but it seemed difficult to ascertain 
the facts, except that in neither case did the shots prove 
fatal. Late in the night of October 22nd, immediately 
after it occurred, I was informed of the assassination of 
Dr. King Robinson, a gentleman who had been assistant 
surgeon at Camp Douglass, but had later established an 
office in the city. Dr. Robinson was a personal friend of 
the Reverend Norman McLeod, who at one time was a 
chaplain in the army, but in the year 1866, and at the 
time of our arrival, was in the service of the Congrega- 
tional Home Missionary Society in Utah, and had es- 
tablished in that year the first church other than Mormon 
that was ever planted in that territory. McLeod had 
purchased a lot for his mission. Thereon he built a 
small adobe structure, which was named Independence 
Hall, securing the money for its construction chiefly in 
California, and in this new building he vigorously 
preached in opposition to Mormonism. Dr. Robinson be- 
came superintendent of the Sabbath School connected 
with the new church. He married a Miss Kay, an estima- 
ble young woman of a prominent family that had aposta- 
tized from the Mormon Church. Prior to this time the 
doctor took possession of certain ground in the neighbor- 
hood of the Warm Springs near the city, which he assumed 
to be part of the public domain. Pursuant to orders of the 
city council the Marshal destroyed the building that 
Robinson had erected upon the ground. Other property 
belonging to Robinson was subsequently destroyed by a 
gang of disguised men. These facts were currently re- 
ported and generally accepted in the city. 

It was only two days later, on a bright moonlit night, 
that the doctor was summoned to attend a young man 
who (it was alleged) had broken his leg. When a few 



3^8 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

hundred feet from his door Robinson was shot down. 
He was assisted to his home by passing friends and soon 
expired. The murderer was never brought to trial, and, 
so far as I could learn, no effort was made even to ap- 
prehend him. 

The situation during the next three or four days was 
ominous. General Connor was no longer in command at 
Camp Douglass, which commanded the city. Squads 
of men gathered on the street corners and in more re- 
tired places and discussed affairs in subdued but earnest 
tones. There was a prevailing belief that men who had 
been outspoken in opposition to Mormonism were 
marked. 

The funeral of Dr. Robinson, which took place on the 
24th, was attended by nearly all the Gentile population 
of the city and camp. As the long procession slowly 
moved down the main thoroughfare of the city, great 
crowds thronged the sidewalks. 

All conditions seemed ripe for a formidable outbreak. 
Considering the type of men who were then in the city 
and the previous conflicts of the Mormons in the states, 
many were surprised that an outbreak did not occur. 
Camp Douglass may have been a deterring influence. 
The Gentile merchants became greatly alarmed and made 
plans for the abandonment of their Utah enterprises. 
These plans however were not carried out, the hope being 
that the building of the Union Pacific Railroad, if con- 
summated, would soon alter conditions. 

At about this time the Reverend McLeod was sum- 
moned to Washington to give testimony concerning the 
character and designs of the Mormons. On his Eastern 
trip he attended the Wisconsin Congregational Conven- 
tion at Fort Atkinson in that state, and there he gave an 



INSIDE GLIMPSES OF MORMON AFFAIRS 3^9 

account of his experiences, a review of which soon came 
into my hands, along with a criticism of a letter concern- 
ing the Mormon situation, which I had written for publi- 
cation. The reports of conditions in Utah were calcu- 
lated to intensify in the East a spirit of bitterness against 
the Mormons, and to confirm the belief that the Mormon 
people were determined to resist the authority of the 
Government. 

No one can fail to respect the devotion of these embas- 
sadors of the Prince of Peace to the cause which they 
represented, nor is it strange that hatred and bitterness 
should pursue an honest and aggressive ministry. It is, 
however, a question whether in the Christian ministry 
the best results follow, when denunciations of opposing 
sects become the chief arguments with which to lead the 
erring into the paths of righteousness. 

It was intensely interesting during those days to join 
in the little Mormon circles in Salt Lake City and listen 
to their story of their trials and conflicts as viewed from 
their standpoint. These were often given with earnest- 
ness and apparent sincerity and honesty. 

One afternoon in the shade of the apricot trees at the 
home of one of the elders, where I had frequently been 
welcomed as a guest, he gave his story of his own experi- 
ences and an interesting version of the now historic 
expedition of General Albert Sidney Johnston in the 
Utah War. The elder's statements are confirmed in a 
general way by the histories of the time, but the histories 
fail to show all that was going on behind the curtains. 
He said that the United States Government had sent 
many men of low and mean character to represent it in 
its judiciary in Utah, among whom was Associate Judge 
W. W. Drummond, who had abandoned his wife and 



380 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

family, in Illinois, and brought with him a woman of bad 
character. 

*'In 1853,'* said the elder, "Gunnison and several of 
his party of surveyors were massacred by the Pah Utes, 
and this act was attributed to the Mormon people. Presi- 
dent Young was our unanimous choice for Governor 
during another term, but the authorities in Washington 
were determined that some one not favorable to our in- 
terests should be in authority. The position was offered 
to Colonel Steptoe, who had been in command of the 
United States troops, but he declined it. In 1857, Alfred 
Gumming was appointed Governor, and in July he as- 
sumed the responsibilities of the office." 

(Later in the season the writer spent several days with 
Governor Gumming on a stage ride through Colorado 
and Kansas.) Continuing his narrative, the elder de- 
scribed the local conflicts that occurred and the untruth- 
ful reports concerning Mormon affairs, which were pub- 
lished in Eastern journals. He said President Buchanan 
doubtless desired to remove the United States troops 
from the states, because the absence of the main body of 
the United States army would make conditions more 
favorable for the southern states to assert their inde- 
pendence. He accordingly sent the flower of the army 
to subdue Utah and put it in command of that old brag- 
gadocio. General Harney, who said, 'T will winter in 
Utah or in Hell." 

"Do you think," said the elder, "that we would peace- 
fully await the results of such threats, without taking 
some steps for our protection? We had peacefully 
settled on what was then foreign soil. President Young 
organized our forces, and as it is now all over I can tell 
you about it. Harney sent Captain Van Vliet to the 



INSIDE GLIMPSES OF MORMON AFFAIRS 331 

city to buy some supplies. The captain had a talk with 
President Young, who said that he did not wish to fight 
against the armies of his country, but if they were able 
to get through the mountains they would find the city 
a desert. 

"General Johnson succeeded Harney as leader of the 
invasion, and I was sent out with our defending forces. 
I wore Indian clothes. I was with Indians and tried to 
act like an Indian. It was an interesting life full of ex- 
citement and adventure. Did you see the fortifications 
in Echo Canyon?" 

"Yes." 

"Well," continued the elder, "I helped to build them, 
and we were prepared, if the army should enter the canyon, 
to tumble rocks upon them from the cliffs above, as we 
had many of them poised on the edge of the high points 
that overlooked the road below. 

"I was sent out to reconnoiter in the path of the in- 
coming army's supply trains, and we were able to fire all 
the wagons in one of them, which was passing Green 
River. We made it hot for the troops, but the cold 
winter was coming on. When the army reached Fort 
Bridger they found it desolate and the buildings burned. 
They established winter quarters near there, and then 
our hard work began. It was war, and we used the best 
tactics that we could. During the autumn we spent our 
time as Indians running off the Government stock and 
left General Johnson up in the mountains starving. We 
escaped to the city before the snow filled the canyons. 

"In the spring Colonel Kane, a Mormon, came in from 
California and urged that President Young arrange an 
interview with Cumming and seek to relieve the suffer- 
ings of the army and prevent bloodshed. He secured 



Sn THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

President Young's consent to visit Governor Gumming at 
the Camp near Bridger and negotiate for a settlement of 
the differences between the Government and the Mor- 
mons, and finally arranged that the Governor under his 
guidance and with a Mormon escort should go into the 
city and meet Brigham. 

"This," said the elder, laughing heartily, "was the 
funniest thing I ever saw. When the coach bearing the 
distinguished party reached the head of Echo Canyon 
early in the night, it was met by a body of mounted men 
guarding the entrance to the valley. As the Governor 
was under a Mormon escort, the proper password was 
silently given by the man on the box to the Captain in 
command of the guards. After but little delay the Gov- 
ernor's party was allowed to proceed. A few miles 
further on the Governor's party was again halted by a 
body of guards. The password was again given in 
silence, and again after a little delay the coach proceeded 
down the canyon through the darkness. Four times in 
Echo Canyon the coach was stopped by mounted guards. 
The Governor certainly became convinced that this 
narrow avenue to the city was well defended." Laughing 
again, the elder said, "I was one of the guards who met 
the Governor. The points selected to stop the party 
were those from which, after the password was given, we 
could scatter into the brush and quickly get together 
further down in the road and hasten ahead in advance of 
the coach to a point where we could again be ready to 
halt the Governor, a different man at each point being 
assigned to do the talking. It gave the impression that 
a different body of men, at each of the four points, was 
guarding the canyon. When the coach rolled on from the 
mouth of the canyon and left us behind, we talked the 



INSIDE GLIMPSES OF MORMON AFFAIRS 333 

matter over together and agreed that the tactics had 
worked admirably." 

I was greatly interested in the elder's story. Having 
previously been informed concerning the entrance of the 
army into the city, I asked the elder to continue, as I 
desired his view of the whole affair. 

"Well," said he, "the Governor reached the city and 
was received by our legion there. One Sabbath he ad- 
dressed many of our people in the tabernacle, and some 
of our elders talked, and the Governor finally learned 
that the conquest of Utah was no simple matter. He 
was openly told of the barbarous treatment that we had 
received in the states, of the malicious destruction of our 
property there, and of the assassination of the prophet. 
He was told of the battalion that we had furnished the 
United States in the Mexican War, and that the victory 
of the United States armies, to which we contributed, 
gave to the American people the very territory we had 
previously occupied as Mexican, in which we were en- 
titled to live in peace and worship God according to the 
dictates of our own conscience. 

"In a few weeks the Governor returned to the Camp 
(Camp Scott), and after communicating with Wash- 
ington a ridiculous proclamation of amnesty was sent to 
our people, after which it was understood that the army 
could march unmolested to Salt Lake and establish a 
camp 36 miles from the city. They located the post, 
which was named Camp Floyd (after John B. Floyd, 
Buchanan's Secretary of War). Before the arm}^ de- 
parted from Camp Scott it had been reinforced by several 
thousand men. They entered the city in June." 

"Now, Elder," said I, "what was really the condition 
of the city when the troops arrived? I have been told 
that you were ready to burn it." 



334 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

"I will tell you the whole story," the elder replied. 
"Our people had practically vacated the city, taking with 
them everything of value that was movable. The doors 
of our houses were locked, but in them we had placed 
straw and kindling. Thirty or forty men were left 
scattered in various parts of the city, who on a signal 
which should notify them if any of our buildings should 
be occupied by the troops, were to fire every building in 
Salt Lake, and it surely would have been done.'* 

I could not refrain from saying to the elder that the 
Mormons were a remarkable people and that their de- 
votion to their religion, and their faith in an able leader, 
were certainly inspiring. 

It was in another interview under the shade of the 
same apricot tree that the elder told, with what I thought 
was justifiable pride, of the negotiations between Brig- 
ham's representatives and the United States Govern- 
ment. The substance of the story was that a great army 
was located in proximity to the city; everything was 
peaceful as far as external appearance would indicate. 
A vast amount of supplies must be secured to maintain 
this army and its large stock of horses and mules. In 
making bids for these supplies, which were expected to 
be hauled in wagons from the Missouri River, the enor- 
mous prevailing rate of 24 to 30 cents per pound must be 
considered, and the freighters entered into the competi- 
tion on that theory. One bid, however, was made by Ben 
HoUiday at a price just low enough to ensure the con- 
tract on flour and other articles that could be pro- 
duced by the Mormons. Brigham Young was back of 
that bid, against which there was no local competition, 
and on that bid the contract was awarded. The Mor- 



INSIDE GLIMPSES OF MORMON AFFAIRS 335 

mons could produce the meat and the wheat as cheaply 
as it could be done in Missouri. They also had the mills. 
The profit was great. 

Thus to the continuing profit of the Mormons the army 
of occupation sent to punish that people was maintained 
for nearly two years. A time finally came when in 
accord with the demands of the people of the Northern 
states the army must be withdrawn for other duties. 
The greater proportion of the mules, wagons, harness, and 
other equipment not absolutely necessary for the use of 
soldiers on their hasty return, was sold at auction for a 
mere song. Brigham was the fortunate bidder. There 
is one fact that can hardly be questioned, namely, that 
in the many conflicts and controversies which Brigham 
Young had with the United States Government or with 
any other opposing interests, he was usually the victor in 
diplomacy, and generally ''turned an honest penny'* in 
cases where a less sagacious leader would have met with 
humiliating defeat. But we must part with the elder, 
his cheerful home, and his luscious apricots. Though 
not a Mormon, I must respect his frankness and hospi- 
table welcome. 

The troops of the United States Government referred 
to by the elder were on their way to Salt Lake when the 
brutal Mountain Meadow Massacre was perpetrated, in 
September, 1857. This thrilling event is here briefly 
mentioned, because of its bearing upon a notable inter- 
view with Brigham Young, at which I was present, im- 
mediately preceding his death, and which, not being else- 
where published, is worthy of record in this volume. 

I frequently heard the gruesome story of the massacre 
as it was rehearsed by citizens of Salt Lake, with many 
details, and on one occasion in Idaho by a lawyer, who 



336 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

personally knew the chief participant in the crime and 
was present at his trial. I nevertheless prefer to quote 
from the more judicial review of the event as presented in 
Bancroft's history of Utah, which appears to be free from 
the strong bias that characterizes nearly all writings and 
utterances upon the subject. 

The unfortunate victims of the slaughter consisted of 
136 emigrants from Arkansas and Missouri. Forney's 
report states that they had 600 cattle, 30 wagons, and 
30 horses and mules. It was alleged by some and denied 
by others that on their arrival at Salt Lake in July the 
Mormons declined to sell them food, because of the in- 
dignities offered to the Mormons in Missouri. 

It is, however, a proved fact that the entire party, 
except 17 young children, after a four days' siege, was 
massacred at Mountain Meadow, 300 miles southwest of 
the city, on the old California trail. The almost universal 
opinion among the Gentiles has been that the deed was 
committed by some Indians and disguised Mormons, 
under the influence of Mormon authorities. John D. 
Lee, a Mormon, and others were convicted as being the 
chief actors in the tragedy. On the 23d of March, 1877, 
twenty years after the massacre, and after a second trial 
at which Lee made a confession of his guilt, which is 
quoted in Mormonism Unveiled^ he was taken to the 
scene of the butchery, and while seated on his rough 
coffin heard read the order of the court. The military 
guard did the rest. At the time of his execution he said, 
*T studied to make Brigham Young's will my pleasure 
for thirty years." 

These confessions of Lee confirmed the prevailing be- 
lief that President Young was the instigator of the crime. 

Notwithstanding all this, Bancroft, in reviewing the 



INSIDE GLIMPSES OF MORMON AFFAIRS 337 

case, writes: "Indeed it may as well be understood at the 
outset that this horrible crime so often and so persistently 
charged upon the Mormon Church and its leaders, was 
the crime of an individual, the crime of a fanatic of the 
worst stamp, one who was a member of the Mormon 
Church, but of whose intentions the church knew 
nothing, and whose bloody acts the members of the 
church high and low regard with as much abhorrence as 
any out of the church.'* 

The Mormons denounce the Mountain Meadow 
Massacre and every act connected therewith as earnestly 
and as honestly as any in the outside world. This is 
abundantly proved and may be accepted as a historic 
fact. 

The execution of Lee caused many reviews of the 
massacre and comments on it to appear in Eastern jour- 
nals. At the same time Ann Eliza Webb, the last wife 
of Young, and one who had abandoned him, was in 
Michigan lecturing in unqualified terms, as an angered 
woman is able to do, against the Mormon hierarchy. Her 
statements, which were widely published, were read with 
avidity. Brigham Young's days were nearly ended, and 
although until within a few days prior to his death he at- 
tended to much of his business affairs, he was usually 
confined to his home by what proved to be his last illness. 

Melville D. Landon, better known by his nom-de- 
plume "Eli Perkins," was at this time on a lecture trip 
to California and was also a correspondent for a widely 
circulated Eastern journal. He stopped for a day in Salt 
Lake City, chiefly for the purpose of securing an inter- 
view with President Young on those matters then so 
prominently before the American people, that he might 
give his story to the pages of his journal. The permis- 



338 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

sion was granted. Eli was known as a florid writer and 
as given somewhat to romancing and to a certain type 
of humor, and all knew the kind of material that he was 
seeking. H. B. Clawson, a son-in-law of the President, 
and a man prominent in the commercial and social affairs 
of Utah, with John W. Young, son of the President, and 
one of his councillors, were to escort the journalist to the 
President's home. Being then in the city, I was invited 
by Mr. Clawson and Mr. Young to meet them and ac- 
company them to the President's room. This party of 
four persons arrived promptly at the appointed hour and 
at once were ushered into Brigham Young's private 
apartment, where the President was in waiting, comfort- 
ably propped up in a large easy chair. 

It had been eleven years since I had last met Brigham 
Young, but his remarkable memory enabled him promptly 
to bring to his mind events connected with our relations 
of 1866, when he was still Young and I was younger. 

Although he fully comprehended what were likely to 
be the subjects to be presented, and that they were of a 
strictly personal and highly serious nature, and notwith- 
standing his illness, he was cheerful. In fact, he stated 
to his son that he preferred, even under the existing 
adverse conditions, to give his own reply to any ques- 
tions, rather than to have a journalist report that he 
feared to face the issue. 

After the usual greetings, the President asked us to be 
seated, and addressing the correspondent, said: "Mr. 
Landon, I understand that you desire to ask me some 
questions. What are they.^" Thus was introduced an in- 
terview which continued more than three hours by the 
clock. Eli, addressing the President said, "Mr. Young, 
you have doubtless read some of the statements which 



INSIDE GLIMPSES OF MORMON AFFAIRS 339 

are being made by your wife, Ann Eliza Webb, in her 
lectures in the East. I would be pleased to secure for my 
journal any statement that you are willing to make con- 
cerning her." Brigham at once proceeded in a vigorous 
and animated tone of voice to give a history of Ann 
Eliza's career from the time of her birth in Illinois, and 
finally her divorce from her first husband, her infidelity, 
her excommunication from the Church, and his reasons 
why the statements that she was making were to be taken 
as those of a perverse woman who was angry because her 
life and character had not been approved by her people 
in Utah. 

*'She went off in a rage,*' the President added, "and 
as her life was a sorrow to us, we are glad that she is gone.** 

After a few more interrogatories concerning the re- 
bellious Ann Eliza, which were duly answered, Eli pro- 
pounded a question of a still more searching and serious 
nature. It was a long question with reference to the re- 
cent execution of John D. Lee and the published reports, 
confirmed by Lee's confession, that authorities high in 
the church instigated and directed the Mountain Mead- 
ows Massacre. It was naturally understood prior to the 
interview that a review of that event would be called for, 
but the manner in which the subject was introduced by 
Landon, and his apparent unfamiliarity with the history 
of the event, roused the latent energy of the President; 
whereupon as a preliminary he raised his head from his 
pillow and asked Eli a few questions with the view to 
ascertain what knowledge, if any, the interviewer had 
concerning the event which he had undertaken to in- 
vestigate. His replies developed the fact that Eli was 
lamentably ignorant of Mormon history and that he 
apparently supposed the massacre was a recent occur- 



340 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

rence and not an event which had taken place twenty 
years prior to the time of his visit. He was, therefore, 
placed at a great disadvantage. 

The President continuing said: "Mr. Landon, there 
has been a vast deal written concerning affairs here, and 
some of the writers possibly knew as little concerning the 
matters which they have written about as you do. To 
enable you to write more intelligently than you otherwise 
could concerning this matter, I must state some facts 
which are generally known by those who are familiar 
with the history of Utah." 

Mr. Young then in a skilful manner laid the foundation 
of his argument and endeavored to show why there could 
have been no motive on his part for the commission of such 
a crime, and that the awful massacre was planned and 
carried out without his knowledge or approval, and that 
Lee's confession, although reiterated on the day of his 
execution, was a falsehood told by a murderer. Brigham, 
with firm, compressed lips continued his statements until 
every point seemed to be covered. His remarks were 
directed for a time to one of us and then to another, the 
speaker looking squarely and earnestly in the face of the 
one addressed. His sons at times were especially ad- 
dressed on some points. Eli could hear but little that 
appealed to his craving for the humorous. 

This once strong man, who at the age of seventy-seven 
years was now making his last published declaration be- 
fore he should pass on to receive the final judgment of his 
Maker, said that John D. Lee's words concerning him, 
which were made in the presence of his executioners, 
were false. With this the long interview ended. Presi- 
dent Young sank back upon his pillow, weary from the 
protracted discussion, after which we quietly departed. 



MORMON HOMES AND SOCIAL LIFE S41 

On the afternoon of the 29th of August, 1877, but a 
brief time after our visit, Brigham Young's earthly 
career ended. 



CHAPTER XXVI 

MORMON HOMES AND SOCIAL LIFE 

IN the older days, when polygamy was a recognized 
institution in Utah, there was much in the organi- 
zation of a Mormon home that was calculated to 
excite interest, bordering on curiosity, in the minds 
of many, who have regarded such complex do- 
mestic relations as peculiar to the luxurious life in an 
Oriental harem. 

This curiosity was intensified by sensational statements 
made in the East, — chiefly by women, but in some cases 
by men, who had renounced, and later denounced, Mor- 
monism. It is quite possible that the stilted dignity of 
some officials, the eager search for the sensational, which 
had characterized the rude intrusion of some writers, and 
the pronounced antagonism of the greater number of 
Gentile residents, prevented such persons from entering 
the Mormon homes, except to find their members very 
reserved and in no frame of mind to disclose the inner life 
of the family. 

There also seemed to be a hidden mystery connected 
with the secret religious rites of the Endowment House 
which were said by many persons to be both solemn and 
indelicate, and extended through three degrees with a 
symbolic ritual quite as elaborate as that which is used 
in Masonry. 

In the earlier days in Salt Lake City, this ceremony was 
performed in a large adobe structure, known as the En- 
dowment House, but since the completion of the Temple, 
it had been held in the Temple Building. As none but 
the elect are permitted to enter those sacred precincts, 

342 



MORMON HOMES AND SOCIAL LIFE 343 

we must obtain our information from persons who, 
although, perhaps, pledged to secrecy, are nevertheless 
now willing to reveal the facts. An estimable old lady, 
who is held in high regard by all her neighbors, but who 
is now no longer a Mormon, has told me all that she could 
remember of the trying ordeal, and has shown me the 
robe which she wore in this ceremony through which she 
passed, after she left the State of New York with her 
parents, and joined with the Saints in the far West. She 
has preserved the robe more than forty years. 

The rite, which may properly be termed confirmation, 
was performed upon this young lady (as such religious 
ceremonies usually are) through parental influence and 
through the advice of church officers. She believed it to 
be her religious duty to enter the Endowment House, but 
she was thoroughly uninformed concerning the nature of 
what she should there see or do, and for which, being a 
helpless subject, she was not responsible, although for 
sixteen years thereafter she accepted the revelation of 
the Mormon prophets and for years was a faithful Mor- 
mon wife. It would appear from her frank narration 
that there was nothing in the ceremony, itself, that justi- 
fies the malicious gossip. I have heard from many un- 
informed persons, that some features of the ceremony are 
indecent, and that its secrecy is intended simply to con- 
ceal rites which would be flagrantly offensive, if per- 
formed in the presence of intimate friends or of the family. 

Mrs. Stenhouse, who has written at length upon this 
subject, confirms the statement that while "The elaborate 
ceremonial seems ridiculously absurd, there is nothing 
in it that is immoral." My informant regarded the cere- 
mony as being sometimes woefully solemn, often thrilling, 
but exceedingly fatiguing because of the many hours re- 



S44 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

quired to pass through each degree. Her baptism, ac- 
cording to Mormon practise, was by immersion. She 
wore a loose white robe, extending to the ankles, and 
leaving one arm free. A linen belt encircled the waist. 
She was anointed with olive oil. She passed the cere- 
mony of purification, and was then led into a representa- 
tion of the Garden of Eden, from which time no members 
of her family were present. This long ceremony ended 
the first degree. Having been driven from the garden 
and its temptations, the novice receives secret signs and 
passwords and unites in solemn oaths, and finally passes 
beyond the veil. The remainder of the ceremony seemed 
to be simple and uninteresting. 

It hardly seems necessary to attempt an explanation 
of the so-called Celestial marriages, or marriages for 
eternity, as distinguished from marriages made simply 
for life, and which have been the subject of much ridicule 
because of the peculiar situation that arises when the two 
relations are held successively by two different husbands. 
I should prefer to leave this occult mystery in the state 
in which it has already been left by writers who have, per- 
haps satisfactorily to themselves, endeavored to give it 
a clear presentation. 

The ethics of polygamy, and the authority for its 
adoption, as I have heard it set forth by the Mormon 
prophet, are exhaustively presented by Bancroft in his 
history of Utah. Some very thoughtful comments in a 
kindly, though not approving vein, are made by the much 
esteemed Bishop Tuttle in his interesing work Reminis- 
cences of a Missionary Bishop. 

Rather than devote space to an attempted exposition 
of this much discussed doctrine, let us visit some of the 
several homes with which we were once somewhat 



MORMON HOMES AND SOCIAL LIFE 345 

familiar. There are two wives in the household where 
we are first to be received. We enter the hall, which is a 
customary feature of the homes, and learning that our 
looked for host is with his wife, Sister Maria, in the sit- 
ting-room at the right, we are conducted to that apart- 
ment, and find that entire branch of the family, including 
the three children, gathered there. In Utah the women 
are present, as in any American home, and enter freely 
into the conversation with their husbands and guests. 
There is nothing in the home we are now visiting that 
would suggest luxury or any tendency toward high living. 
I observed a Bible and Book of Mormon lying upon a 
table near where I sat. Doubtless a copy of Doctrines 
and Covenants is near at hand, as one is usually found in 
every loyal Mormon home. A picture of the Martyred 
Prophet, also one of President Young, hang upon the 
walls. Doors communicate between the sitting-room 
and bed-rooms. Another door communicates with the 
dining-room, which is at the rear of the hall, and is used 
in common by both branches of the family. 

After half an hour spent in conversation, we all pass 
across the hall to Sister Ellen's apartment, where we find 
almost an exact duplication of the rooms we first entered. 
Sister Ellen is somewhat younger than Maria, and but 
two children have as yet blessed that alliance. Belong- 
ing to a people of simple habits, the wives are trained to 
habits of industry, and attend to all the domestic duties 
of the home. The dress of the women is, therefore, very 
plain. 

While it may be true that the relations between the 
two branches of this family are as variable as are those of 
average Gentile families in our cities who live in connect- 
ing flats, and who, when company is present, usually 



346 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

appear to be on terms of perfect amity one with another, 
and that this Mormon home has its conflicts, yet it must 
be admitted that there is now a peaceful atmosphere, and 
the children, who are sometimes a social barometer, pass 
freely from one apartment to the other. 

Another friend, a merchant, invites us to call. He also 
happens to have exactly tw^o wives, both of whom, but at 
different times, I have since entertained with their hus- 
band in my Eastern home. This gentleman enjoyed the 
luxury of two very well appointed homes, separated by 
about fifty feet of lawn, in each of which was housed one 
branch of his family. He frankly informed me that he 
devoted each alternate week to each family. I remarked 
that this plan must occasion considerable moving of his 
own personal effects. 

*'0h no," he replied. *Tt is easy enough, but I think 
things go a little smoother when each woman has her own 
home." 

I observed, however, that wife number one ran over in 
a pleasant and familiar way, and joined in our visit. The 
husband said that he honestly and conscientiously 
divided his time between his two families. These women 
were refined, and had profited by better educational ad- 
vantages than were afforded the greater number of peo- 
ple whom I had met in Utah. 

It would be strange indeed if an indication of partiality 
or preference for either wife by her husband would not 
arouse some feelings of resentment, and possibly jealousy, 
in the heart of the other. 

I once asked one bright lady if she really favored the 
idea of a plurality of wives. 

"Yes," she replied slowly, and then added, "but it is 
because it is God's will. I would prefer to have a whole 
husband." 



MORMON HOMES AND SOCIAL LIFE 347 

To me this reply seemed to be a fair statement of the 
attitude of Mormon women toward polygamy. 

During nearly all of our sojourn in the city our vener- 
able and beloved traveling companion, Deacon Simeon 
E. Cobb, had been in another Mormon home very ill. 
It was a home, however, in which there was but one wife, 
and which I frequently visited. On the 10th of October, 
the Deacon peacefully passed away. All of the members 
of our party were summoned to the city, and on the 
following day we laid him in a cemetery, situated away 
up near Camp Douglass, and overlooking the entire 
Jordan Valley. There was no clergyman in the city to 
assist in the obsequies. The Reverend Norman McLeod 
was then on his Eastern trip already referred to. Deacon 
Cobb's Mormon home had been a comfortable asylum 
in his days of suffering, and he had said, previous to his 
death, that the good wife who attended him had been an 
angel of mercy. 

I will allow those writers who have met bad women 
among the Mormons to give their own experiences. Per- 
sonally I have met none who did not seem to be moral and 
true to the fundamental principles that underlie Christian 
character, as they understood them. 

Some writings that I have perused comment on the race 
deterioration of this people, as the result of polygamy. 
In theory one would expect such a result, and the practice, 
doubtless, has produced its effects. However, from per- 
sonal observation I am unable to discover wherein the 
children in Utah appear to be materially different from 
those in other parts of our country, though in Salt Lake 
City there is a mixed population composed of Danes, 
Norwegians, Swedes, English, native Americans and 



348 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

other industrious people. This is not an apology for the 
abhorrent practice of polygamy; but it must be supposed 
that temperance, industry, and the recognized value of 
other good habits, as prescribed, and fairly well observed 
by the Mormons are sure to produce more favorable re- 
sults than are the rapid and dissipated careers of many 
children of fortune, who are so-called leaders in American 
social life. 

The facilities for education, the libraries, the oppor- 
tunities provided for wholesome amusement, and the de- 
velopment in music, were certainly on as advanced a 
scale as were those in any part of our Western States or 
territories in that day. The University of Deseret, legal- 
ized by their Legislature Assembly, was opened in Novem- 
ber, 1850, and provided for free admission to students. 
In it the use of tobacco and intoxicants was especially in- 
terdicted. The work of the institution was discon- 
tinued during the war because of insufficient funds, and 
it was, therefore, not in operation during my first visit. 
It was re-opened in 1867. 

Brigham encouraged music and the drama. The large 
and well-trained choir in the Tabernacle is even to this 
day an attraction for visitors. Theatrical performances 
were regularly given from the earliest days of the Mor- 
mon settlement. In an address delivered by Brigham in 
1852, he is quoted in the History of Brigham Young , 
MS. of that year, as stating, with reference to dancing 
and theatricals, — "These pastimes give me a privilege to 
throw everything off and shake myself that my body may 
exercise and my mind rest." Their dancing parties 
were, therefore, conducted under the supervision of 
church officers, and it was said that they were opened 
with prayer. 



MORMON HOMES AND SOCIAL LIFE 349 

The fine Salt Lake Theater building was in use at the 
time of our visit in 1866, and was practically unchanged 
in 1910, except (as I observed) that opera-chairs were 
substituted for long seats in the main part of the audi- 
torium. 

An excellent stock company, in which three of the 
president's daughters were regular members, appeared 
at this theater two nights each week. No dramatic 
entertainments were given there on other nights. The 
president regularly occupied his box at the right of the 
stage in company with one wife, who was said then to be 
his favorite, — the other wives occupying their regular 
seats, side by side, in two long rows in the parquet. All 
the wives were usually present. Gentiles were expected 
to sit in the circles and galleries above. The entertain- 
ment and other features of the performances in the 
theater partook of the nature of family gatherings. The 
parquet afforded opportunities for social greetings among 
the Saints, and between the acts presented an animated 
scene. Laura Keene, Maggie Mitchell, the Irvins, Phelps 
and other stars of the day, were introduced from time to 
time. The auditorium was said to have a seating ca- 
pacity of more than 2,500. 

As examples of the plays presented, all of which I wit- 
nessed, may be mentioned, Gilderoy, Camilla^ s Husbandy 
Brother Bill & Me, Robert McCairey As Like as Two Peas, 
Women'' s Love, Extremes, Love Knot, Deaf as a Post, The 
Old Chateau, Charles XII King of Sweden, Jeremy Did- 
dler, Grimaldi, or Perfection, The Robbers, Barney the 
Baron, Advertising for a Wife, and Marble Heart, written 
by Mr. Sloan, a local playwright. 

With but few exceptions, these were well presented. 
It is mv belief that at no time have the Mormons al- 



350 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

lowed to be presented upon their stage any plays of the 
shameful and disgraceful type so popular at many of our 
Eastern and further Western places of amusement. 

On a recent visit to Salt Lake, I was escorted by a 
mother in Israel, whom I had long known, to the old 
home of Brigham Young, in the front part of which I had 
been received many years before. His daughter, Zina, now 
a matron well advanced in years, presides over that build- 
ing, which is now used as an industrial school for girls. 
It was this Zina, who, forty-four years before, when a 
bright young girl of fifteen years, having, with certain of 
her sisters, received careful training in elocution, ap- 
peared upon the stage of the Salt Lake City theater be- 
fore an enthusiastic and friendly audience which filled 
the house to the upper gallery. Her role, as I remember, 
was not a prominent one, but her modest bearing, her 
clear musical voice and distinct enunciation, won univer- 
sal commendation. She is now, as she doubtless was 
then, dignified, earnest, and interesting; but now she is a 
woman who seems to believe that she has a mission in the 
training of young girls for lives of usefulness. 

We sat in the old private room, once used by her father, 
in which were the desk, tables and closets, not ordinarily 
opened to the public, and this for reasons that relic 
hunters well understand; but in those cabinets were many 
records and other objects of interest which seemed to be 
of historic value. 

We passed back into the long hall on either side of 
which were rooms, each of which was formerly occupied 
by one of President Young's wives. All of these rooms 
are comparatively small, old-style, and simple in their 
appointments. We visited the old dining-room, where 
the president and his family, including his many children 



MORMON HOMES AND SOCIAL LIFE 351 

sat at their meals, using a single long table, at the head 
of which the president was accustomed to sit. In 
another room, which is in the basement, we were served 
with an excellent lunch by the young ladies of the do- 
mestic science school, who were courteous, gracious, and 
each apparently as worthy of a good whole husband as is 
any daughter that graces fashionable circles in the East. 

The work of the school, to which Sister Zina, as she 
was called, is devoting her mature years, was fully ex- 
plained. It is almost needless to state, that when she 
had summoned and introduced David McKenzie, the 
venerable manager and director of the theater, the man 
who had presented her to her first audience in 1866, our 
conversation turned into a lighter and more reminiscent 
vein. We did, however, speak of the trials of her people 
and of many serious matters already referred to in these 
chapters, and of some incidents which, though interest- 
ing, w^ould require more space if mentioned at all, than 
could here be given them. But Sister Zina is loyal to her 
father's memory. 

In March, 1912, the curtain fell and closed the last act 
in McKenzie's life. He was a devout Mormon, had often 
preached in the tabernacle and maintained local dramatic 
art along high moral lines. 

Gibbon classes among the most furious sectaries of 
religion much persecuted, such Christians as the Hus- 
sites of Bohemia, the Calvinists of France and the Pau- 
licians of America in the ninth century, but he was too 
just a historian to put all their leaders outside the pale of 
worthy citizenship. 

So when I have sat in the presence of the venerable 
Mrs. Emeline B. Wells, now 85 years of age, I have al- 
ways been inspired with profound respect for her noble 



352 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

character and high culture. She was an early Mormon 
pioneer and is still editor of "The Woman's Exponent,'* 
an accomplished writer and conversationalist. 

When I read her exquisite poem "The Wife to the Hus- 
band," I am led to the conviction that whatever there 
may be wrong in Mormon teachings there are women 
among that people who have exalted conceptions of do- 
mestic relations. 

In the old days the Tithing House was a large adobe 
structure situated near the Tabernacle, where was re- 
ceived in kind a tenth of the surplus, as a consecration, 
and after that, one tenth of the increase or earnings an- 
nually. The earliest revelations to Joseph Smith in 1831, 
commanding the payment of tithes, are quoted in Times 
and SeasonSy Vols. IV and V. The later alleged revela- 
tions and instructions are published in the several 
Mormon journals. 

The present offices of the church are now installed in a 
large and well-appointed building, which is as complete 
as are the offices of any other great modern financial 
institution. As one passes by the bookkeepers into the 
vaults and directors' room it seems as if one were visiting 
the headquarters of a huge, well-ordered business corpora- 
tion. 

It is not strange that many of the active men, who were 
at the front in Mormon affairs half a century ago, are no 
longer seen on the streets of Salt Lake City. Time, how- 
ever, has dealt kindly with the now venerable Hiram B. 
Clawson, twice son-in-law of Brigham, a man once quite 
as prominent as any other in the social, business, and 
military life of Utah. In the panic of 1873 he was sent 
East with H. S. Eldredge to arrange an extension of the 
obligations of Zion's Mercantile Institution, of which 



MORMON HOMES AND SOCIAL LIFE 353 

he was then superintendent. His work was conducted 
with success, and in less than eight months the entire 
liabihty, amounting to $1,100,000, was fully paid, a con- 
siderable portion of it being transmitted through the 
firm of which I was a member. He finally stated that 
the losses of the Company at that time, through bad 
debts, did not exceed one-fourth of one per cent, which 
was as decisive an indication of the integrity of the people 
as could easily have been found anywhere in that calami- 
tous year. In my last interview with the old gentleman 
we discussed this experience, as well as our memorable 
interview with Brigham Young, already reported in 
another chapter. 

The practice of polygamy is rapidly declining among 
the Mormons in Utah. In response to the demands of the 
Saints themselves, Congress, in 1862, and again in 1882, 
enacted laws which it was hoped would remedy the evil. 
The law of 1862, known as the Edmunds Act, declared 
such cohabitation to be a misdemeanor. Nevertheless, 
within the past six years I have been sheltered in a Mor- 
mon home, located somewhat outside of the Utah line, 
where three women were present as the wives of the host. 

Whatever may be the relations between husband and 
wives, there can be no perfectly amicable relations be- 
tween the Mormons and other people in our country 
while these conditions continue. There is to this day 
an undisguisable sentiment of distrust of each other on 
the part of both Mormon and Gentile elements in Utah, 
the like of which does not seem to exist between adherents 
of other religious faiths in our country. 

This statement leads us to consider what seems to be 
the fundamental cause of the greater part of the Mormon 
suffering and trials in the years gone by, and of their many 



854 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

conflicts with national and state governments, for which 
the mass of that people are certainly not responsible. 

Orson Pratt, the Apostle, said "There can be but one 
perfect government — that organized by God — a govern- 
ment by apostles, prophets, priests, teachers, and evan- 
gelists." 

We read in the Millennial Star, (a church organ) 1844, 
reasons why Joseph Smith, the prophet, should be and 
logically was the president of the United States. In that 
year he was formally announced as a candidate for that 
office (see Times and Seasons, June, 1844). By virtue of 
his supremacy in the church he was also at the same time 
Commander-in-Chief of the Nauvoo Legion, and Mayor 
of the City of Nauvoo. 

The reign of King Strang, referred to in another chap- 
ter, was a theocracy, and was in harmony with the Mor- 
mon precedent established by the first prophet. 

*T am and will be governor, and no power can hinder 
it," were the words used by Brigham Young in a dis- 
course in the Tabernacle, 1853, as quoted by Bancroft 
in his History of Utah, page 481. 

The assumption of civil authority by the Roman 
Pontiffs in the Middle Ages, as a divine right, was not 
more autocratic than was the attempted usurpation of 
civil and religious sovereignty by the men whose words 
and acts are hereinbefore set forth. 

On the other hand, if Divine revelation of more recent 
date than that which was alleged to have come to Joseph 
Smith on Cumorah Hill is believed to have come to an 
American woman, and this later revelation is honestly 
accepted, and its inspired author is revered by thousands 
of good and intelligent men and women, it is not surpris- 
ing if the Book of Mormon, and other prophetic deliver- 



MORMON HOMES AND SOCIAL LIFE 355 

ances alleged to have been received from time to time in 
the dramatic and mysterious manner that appeals to the 
credulous, should also be accepted and obeyed by the 
faithful. 

If the many revelations and commands published to 
the Mormon people through the medium of their proph- 
ets be accepted and obeyed, and all under the honest 
conviction that such revelations are of divine origin, it 
necessarily follows that the Mormon hierach that issues 
such decrees is the arbiter and guide of Mormon conduct. 
The Mormon laity believed that these supposed divine 
commands emanate from a higher source than do the 
acts of Congress, and that civil authority is centered in 
the head of their Church. It would, therefore, be bru- 
tally illogical to lay upon the women of Utah any un- 
necessary burdens of censure for their violation of Con- 
gressional and other secular enactments before mentioned, 
especially as they have not profited but only suffered 
from the violation dictated and enforced by conscience. 
None the less it remains true that Mormon rule and prac- 
tise are not in harmony with the spirit and genius of 
American institutions, neither can they be until the laws 
of the land, which they have a part in framing, are un- 
reservedly recognized and obeyed. 

A defection in the Mormon Church, led by Joseph 
Smith, Junior, then in Piano, Illinois, was the subject of 
much controversy during our visit. These dissenters 
were known as Josephites. Their creed, denouncing 
polygamy and declaring that Brigham Young had 
apostatized from the true faith, is set forth in Waite's 
The Mormon Prophet. 

Much of the merchandise that was on our incoming ox 
train was consigned to William S. Godbe, who was at the 



356 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

head of the so-called Godbeite movement, for which re- 
volt he and others were ex-communicated and "delivered 
over to the buffetings of Satan" "for the period of 1000 
years," which seemed to be the approved conventional 
term of buffeting to which recusants from the Orthodox 
Mormon Church were uniformly condemned. Whether 
any abridgment of this millennium might be expected in 
recognition of good behavior, seems never to have been 
revealed even to the most highly favored. 

In opposition to Brigham's policy, Mr. Godbe had 
strongly urged the development of mining in Utah, — a 
fact that might have recommended him to the friendly 
consideration of the accomplished Buffeter, who is 
thought to take much interest at least in coal mining. 

It was on the evening of October 8th, immediately 
after my return from a trip to the mountains, that I was 
invited to a conference with Governor Charles Durkee, 
Judge Fields, and Dr. O. H. Conger, at which time 
among other topics were discussed the perplexing state 
of political affairs in the territory and the situation with 
reference to mining industries. 

At that time Dr. Conger was developing in the interest 
of other parties a promising silver mine, which Godbe in- 
vestigated with some care. It was located up in the 
Wasatch range, at the head of Little Cottonwood canyon, 
and three years later it became historic and notorious 
as the Emma Mine. 

The sale of it three years later to an English Syndicate 
for 1,000,000 pounds sterling has taken rank as one of the 
most prodigious mining swindles on record. At the time 
of this sale the original owners had parted company with 
the venture. To give his younger friend a view of the 
attractive scenery, I was invited by the doctor to ac- 



MORMON HOMES AND SOCIAL LIFE S57 

company him on a trip to the new diggings, which were 
up on the side of the Twin Peaks. The ride up that wild 
gorge, one of the grandest in Utah, was intensely in- 
ter esting. The water race at the mine, newly cut 
through a ledge of marble yet unstained by exposure and 
therefore white as snow, wherein to conduct the wonder- 
fully transparent mountain stream, was a striking feature. 
The whiteness of the conduit made the clear water invisi- 
ble, except when it received the reflected sunlight. A 
careless pedestrian might easily attempt heedlessly to 
walk down in the bottom upon the marble bed. In 
dipping from the surface it was necessary to feel one's 
way to where the pure air ended and the water began. 
The white marble channel bed was the chief cause of this 
uncommon transparency. The miners' cabin built from 
logs of balsam fir, the berths filled with twigs from that 
fragrant tree, and the brilliant wood fire in the massive 
open fireplace in which were burned resinous balsam 
logs, made the great room redolent with a delightful per- 
fume, which I have never forgotten. But all these sug- 
gestions of purity were smothered later in the ethically 
malodorous transaction already mentioned. 

Incidentally I continued the ascent of the Twin Peaks, 
from the top of which is doubtless obtained the finest 
possible view of the Jordan Valley and Great Salt Lake. 
To this remarkable body of water a brief reference seems 
appropriate. It has been so frequently described that 
it seems proper only to state on the authority of the 
American Encyclopedia that it contains 22 per cent of 
Chloride of Sodium (salt), with a specific gravity ordi- 
narily of 1.17, and is probably the purest and most con- 
centrated brine constituting any large body of water on 
the globe. 



358 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

Having bathed also in the Dead Sea I have found its 
waters to be equally transparent and about equal in 
buoyancy, the specific gravity being about the same as 
that of Salt Lake. The most noticeable difference in 
effect is the prickling sensation and the smooth oily feel- 
ing of the Dead Sea waters, which are attributed to the 
presence of nearly 3 per cent of Chloride of Calcium; a 
bitter taste is also imparted by the more than 10 per cent 
of Chloride of Magnesium. The desire for a rinse in fresh 
water is strongly felt on emerging from the Palestinian 
Sea. The warm spring, which as already stated had at 
one time been pre-empted by Dr. Robinson, was a favo- 
rite resort where we occasionally took a plunge. The 
waters have a temperature of 95 degrees and are im- 
pregnated with sulphur. 

During the summer my companions, Ben and Fred, 
made a trip to Montana. They assured me that the 
primary purposes of their expedition were business and 
seeing the country but who would suppose that they 
would fail to find the young ladies from whom they had 
separated at the Parting of the Ways! 

Later in the season they took the stage for San Fran- 
cisco and thence sailed for New York via Panama. In 
the meantime, it became my duty to make a number of 
excursions, some of which may be of suflScient interest to 
describe. 



CHAPTER XXVII 

The Boarding House Train 

THE boarding house train of the older days was 
not an institution peculiar to the West alone, 
for we know that tramp outfits afforded protec- 
tion to wanderers in ancient times, and even 
now in the Orient and for an agreed pecuniary considera- 
tion the peripatetic traveler may plod along as best he 
may, or possibly ride at times, and have the dust of the 
train and the society and fare of the Cameleers. 

Although more or less familiar also with the mode of 
travel as seen in the early immigration to the west of 
Lake Michigan, I had never seen anything of its kind 
quite so picturesque or that in America brought together 
so heterogeneous a party of men, as the boarding-house 
train that I accompanied through the mountains in 
September, 1866. 

The time had arrived when it was hoped that our big 
ox train would be approaching the mountains, and desir- 
ing to meet it and assist in bringing it through the can- 
yons, I watched for an opportunity to join some East bound 
train. The late summer and early autumn had given us 
time to dispose of some merchandise that reached Salt 
Lake earlier in the season, and I was now free to leave 
the city. 

Learning of a small mule outfit that was about to start 
for the Missouri River, I concluded arrangements for 
transportation. 

This transportation embraced the so-called *'grub" and 
the conveniences of a covered wagon in which one might 

359 



860 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

ride on easy roads, the expectation being that the pas- 
senger would walk up the hills or over difficult tracts. 

The captain of the outfit, a big, burly freighter, seemed 
proud to have come from Pike County, Missouri, which 
he stated had produced the most distinguished men 
whom he had ever known. 

It had not been my privilege to meet any of the pas- 
sengers booked for this Missouri outfit until their arrival 
at the corral at the appointed hour for starting. In ac- 
cordance with the custom of the country, each passenger 
was to furnish his own lodging; in other words, each 
brought such blankets as were supposed to be necessary 
for protection at night. My bundle was deposited in the 
rear wagon, as I was desirous of securing the advantage 
of an observation car, which would afford an unob- 
structed view behind us. All the vehicles were ordinary 
large wagons with canvas covers. 

My companions in that wagon were two young men 
from Ohio, each of whom had recently purchased a 
broncho horse, which he intended to take back to the 
States and incidentally to use under the saddle, as he 
might have opportunity, on the Eastward journey. 
These two quadrupeds were haltered to the rear of the 
last wagon, which they were expected to follow. That 
the bronchos might become gradually accustomed to a 
burden upon their backs, the young men had cinched 
tightly upon them their bundles of blankets. Thus 
equipped we rolled out from the city up the terraced 
slope of "the bench" toward the entrance into Parley's 
Canyon. (It may be stated that the bench is the narrow 
level table land, evidently an ancient shore line, that 
skirts the foothills of those mountains and indicates that 
during some period the waters in the valley reached that 
high level) . 



\ 




THE BOARDING HOUSE TRAIN 361 

The young men had commented favorably on the 
docility of their bronchos, which had for a time followed 
the wagon in a satisfactory manner, and expressed the 
belief that the animals would afford great comfort on the 
long trip, by enabling them to take horse-back rides. 

On entering an area covered with sage brush, a new 
purpose seemed suddenly to enter the heads of the un- 
certain bronchos. It may have been inspired by the 
sight of a little patch of grass on the otherwise arid bench, 
or it may have been an innate inclination to do something 
unexpected, an inclination very characteristic of the 
broncho. Suddenly and almost simultaneously they 
dropped back on their halters and were soon free and 
making a flight for the brush. The young men watched 
their next proceedings with dismay. Having reached 
an eligible location in an open space, the bronchos at once 
began a series of evolutions so interesting that the train 
was brought to a halt. In his favorite pastime of buck- 
ing, the broncho has no peer among all the quadrupeds 
of the earth. It had been my privilege and misfortune 
to make a personal test of this form of amusement and 
with the usual results, but never before had I seen it so 
successfully performed upon inanimate matter, as on this 
occasion in the sage brush of Utah. 

The bundles upon the bronchos were light, and were 
strapped tightly upon them with double girths. The 
buckers operating closely together apparently entered 
into a contest, to ascertain which of the two could first 
relieve himself of his impedimenta. 

While the train was at rest, the boarders and drivers 
secured favorable positions, where they might witness 
the match. Our captain from Pike County, Missouri, 



362 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

broke forth into curses, berating the intelligence of any 
man who would buy such good-for-nothing creatures, and 
yet he was the first person to assist in their capture. 
Again and again the bucking bronchos, facing each other, 
repeated their vicious plunges, leaping into the air with 
heads down and backs curved upward, and coming down 
upon their fore feet, until in some way the bundles were 
dashed upon the ground and their contents were widely 
distributed under the animals' feet, after which a sense 
of victory and freedom seemed to come over them, and 
only after a long pursuit were they again secured. During 
the time that I remained with the train, no human being 
ventured to mount the refractory brutes. 

The night came on as we turned into camp near the 
summit of the canyon. The familiar fragrance of fried 
bacon and coffee was beginning to pervade the atmos- 
phere when the captain from Pike County gave the com- 
mand to "fall to," which was his method of announcing 
to the boarders that supper was served. Drawing around 
the camp fire we faced the same old "Menu" and the 
same type of battered tin dishes and cutlery that we had 
become familiar with on our own train, except that the 
cooking and serving paraphernalia bore evidences of 
greater antiquity and more violent service. 

We sat or kneeled upon the ground in a sort of irregular 
semi-circle. With but few exceptions each man was a 
stranger to all the others. Each man had a revolver in 
his belt, and in most cases the men had rifles with their 
effects in the wagons. Each was curious to know where 
the other fellow came from, and without much ceremony 
the blunt, but good-natured question, "Where do you 
hail from.?" was propounded to one's neighbor in the 
circle. The roster was soon completed, and before we 



THE BOARDING HOUSE TRAIN 363 

left the camp fire my record showed that one of the party 
had recently closed his apprenticeship under Morgan, 
the raider; another, an ex-confederate, was from Old 
Virginia; one was from the Sandwich Islands; one from 
New Hampshire; one each from Arkansas, South Caro- 
lina, Michigan, and Wisconsin, and two were from Mis- 
souri. Our cook was a young Snake Indian, but the 
rest of the crew had not yet disclosed any facts concerning 
their life-history. 

From the members of such a miscellaneous gathering 
there came naturally some sparring and good-natured 
reviling tinged at times with acrimony, for the bitterness 
of the Civil War had not yet materially lessened. But 
after the first parry of words all realized that they were 
now comrades for mutual protection. 

A quiet place was soon found up the mountain side, 
and wrapping my blanket around me I watched the 
bright stars until I fell asleep. 

In the morning we had a touch of camp life that was 
calculated to bring to the surface that trait of character 
which would manifest itself in an hour of trial. The 
captain had been heard to shout from a distant point, 
where he was attending to a mule, to ask the young 
Indian cook why in h — 1 he didn't call breakfast, as it was 
time for the train to pull out. The brush fire had burned 
long enough to have boiled coffee many times, but the 
Snake Indian seemed to be wandering abstractedly round 
the wagons as if searching for some missing article. As 
the Captain approached and again demanded an ex- 
planation for the delay, the boy informed him, in the few 
English words at his command, that some one had taken 
the bacon. He declared that the great slab of meat re- 
ferred to had on the night before been placed in the 



^64 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

covered mess box at the tail end of the wagon. 

The Captain again swore, and, with the air of a com- 
mander of men, proceeded in his endeavors to solve the 
mystery. Two mules had been picketed all night near 
the wagon, and the Captain, doubtless aware of the om- 
nivorous habits of those amalgamated beasts, examined 
their surroundings, and observed squarely under the 
fore feet of one an elevated surface that appeared sus- 
picious. He backed the mule, and with his foot scraped 
away an inch or two of dirt, beneath which he struck the 
stratum of bacon, disfigured somewhat by the heavy 
pressure of the animal's hoofs, but nevertheless recog- 
nizable as bacon. The mule had evidently, at some time 
during the night, lifted the lid of the mess box with his 
nose, and seizing the bacon with his teeth had undertaken 
the task of eating it, but finding some coarser food better 
suited to his incisors had abandoned the bacon in disgust, 
dropped it upon the ground, pawed dirt upon it, and then 
planted his feet on the pile. 

"Here's your bacon," said the Captain, with an oath, 
and a sneer of superiority. "Now hurry up that break- 
fast." This event occurred prior to the development of 
our present theory of germs and the sterilization of food, 
so vexing to modern epicures. 

An empty stomach needs no appetizing sauce. When 
I have listened to adverse criticisms concerning dishes 
served at elaborately prepared banquets, I have more 
than once recalled that breakfast of bacon and coffee pre- 
pared by a Snake Indian cook in the Wasatch Moun- 
tains. There was no bacon to be wasted. 

On those clear frosty nights it was a pleasure to creep 
up the mountain side, and beneath the open starry sky 
to roll up in a blanket and be lulled to sleep by the music 



THE BOARDING HOUSE TRAIN 365 

of streams rushing down those canyons. Strange as it 
may seem, no colds ever resulted from this life in the 
open air. Every breath inhaled in the waking hours or 
while asleep, was of pure air not vitiated by exhalations 
from the lungs of others, nor breathed in part over and 
over again. This immunity from colds is also true under 
some conditions that might seem seriously dangerous to 
one accustomed only to the comforts of civilized life. 
An example of this was afforded on Tuesday evening, the 
18th of September, when we reached Quaking Asp Hill, 
near the summit of the Divide. A fine driving rain, 
which extinguished our fires, began to fall at dusk, before 
we had finished our bacon and coffee, and there were in- 
dications of a cold and heavy storm. That he might 
the better protect himself against the elements, the Sand- 
wich Islander entered into negotiations to double our 
blankets, a proposal that was promptly accepted, as he 
was provided with one which was waterproof to place 
on the wet ground. Each of us had the regular double 
army blanket and overcoat. This was not the first 
rainy night that I had spent without a roof above me, 
but it was certainly the wildest. 

As the night advanced and the wind was blowing 
violently, we naturally turned our feet toward the gale 
and loaded the edges of the blankets with rocks to hold 
them in place. We then settled down to await the time 
when the water would penetrate our clothing. 

Fortunately the rain turned into a driving snow 
storm. The gale veered round and came from the North, 
increasing in intensity, and although our blankets were 
frozen, the wind now coming toward our heads, pressed 
down between us and lifted the covering like a balloon 
until it found escape at our feet, while the covers waved 



366 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

and flapped in the air. It seemed too late to reverse 
our position, but we held tightly to the coverings until 
the accumulating snow gradually weighted them down. 
The wind also became more moderate toward midnight, 
but the snow continued to fall rapidly until after we fell 
asleep. My companion and I had *'spooned" as closely 
as possible that we might share each other's warmth, and 
if one was inclined to turn over his partner promptly 
responded. 

I awoke after daylight, conscious of the heavy weight 
resting upon us. Opening my eyes I looked upward 
through the white funnel in the snow which had been 
formed by our breaths, melting the falling flakes, but 
everything was still. The storm had ceased, and al- 
though the sun had not yet risen above the mountain 
peaks, we saw that a bright morning was dawning upon 
us. A council with my companion led us to lift the 
blankets with care, and remove the weight of snow that 
covered us. After rising to a sitting position, it was dis- 
covered that we were not alone. Here and there at 
different points were undulations on the brilliant white 
surface of the snow. In one end of each of these was 
the funnel which told us that the warm breath of the 
sleepers had also preserved for them an open view of the 
sky above. 

Must we, as first-class boarders, dig the walks through 
the snow and build the fire? We decided in the nega- 
tive, and accordingly called the camp to service. One by 
one snow mounds were lifted and living beings arose from 
beneath the thick white mantle. The Captain had slept 
in his wagon, but he promptly assumed command. 
Preparations were soon under way for breakfast, and the 
stock was cared for. Nearly eight inches of snow had 



THE BOARDING HOUSE TRAIN 367 

fallen. Not a track was visible to guide us along the 
road during the greater part of the following day, but as 
we descended into the valleys, there was but little snow 
upon the ground, and that disappeared rapidly. Not 
one of our party "caught cold." 

The days rolled by until one morning after we had 
passed Fort Bridger, we met our long ox train moving 
Westward. It halted until I could transfer my baggage, 
after which I bade a hearty farewell to the fellow travel- 
ers in the boarding-house train. Taking possession 
of a good saddle horse, I started Westward again with 
our own long caravan. 

This brings us to new experiences. It was no trifling 
matter to conduct a long ox train up and down the moun- 
tain canyons, as will be discovered later. This was not 
because it was difficult to find the trail, but it was be- 
cause the trail itself was often difficult. It was the prin- 
cipal highway through the ranges of mountains, and from 
Fort Bridger westward was the regular stage road, yet 
it was often steep and dangerous. Captain Whitmore 
and his men were somewhat weary, having had a hard 
trip, and my services, therefore, seemed to be very wel- 
come. The provisions were running low. Sugar for 
coffee and soda for bread were long since exhausted. In 
fact, the stock of food was reduced to flour, bacon, and a 
little coffee. Milk or vegetables were never obtainable, 
and canned goods had not come into use. Two or three 
men who were with the train had endeavored to incite 
the others to rebellion, and appearing before Captain 
Whitmore told him substantially in the words once^ad- 
dressed to Moses of the time when back in the States, 
"They sat by the flesh pots and did eat bread to the^fuU,** 
but now they could not get a square meal in the wilder- 



368 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

ness. It appears that these mutineers were recognized 
by their companions as wasteful, shiftless men, too proud 
and lazy to work when at home. From Whitmore's 
rulings there would be no appeal in that country, except 
to the law of force. There were no cucumbers, melons, 
leeks, or onions in that wilderness. Bacon or unleavened 
bread or death was the alternative, unless they could 
hustle for wild game. Regarding the subsequent careers 
of the three men above referred to as an object lesson, 
it may be interesting to note the fact that to the end of 
their lives none appeared ever to be in a position to as- 
sist another, or to keep want from his own door. 

It was along this road that we fell in with Captain 
Chipman's ill-starred train of Mormon emigrants. 
Mingling with the Pilgrims in their camp, I became in- 
terested in a young Englishman named S. W. Sears, 
whose history is full of adventures and chequered with 
varied experiences. 

Although then but twenty-two years of age, he was 
chaplain of the train; for be it known that notwithstand- 
ing the sins ascribed to the Mormons, they maintained 
regular devotional services in camp as well as temple. 
Sears' wife had died on their westward pilgrimage six 
months after their marriage and was buried on the 
banks of the North Platte. 

A few days later their train was attacked by Indians 
who captured 300 of their horses and oxen. 

The emigrants saved enough of their stock to move 
their wagons in divisions until they escaped from the 
hostile Indian territory. 

Sears became prominent both as a missionary of the 
Mormon faith and in commercial life. Two wives sur- 
vived him, one of whom was the adopted daughter of the 



THE BOARDING HOUSE TRAIN 369 

distinguished Daniel H. Wells and was born in a wagon 
near the entrance to the citj- at the termination of her 
mother's long journey across the plains. 

Travel, like politics, makes strange bedfellows, and 
especially that kind of travel in which all companions 
must, from necessity, mingle on a common level, eat 
their simple rations by the same camp fire, and sleep side 
by side beneath the same open sky. This observation 
is suggested by a night spent in camp near Bear River. 
Our ox train had just forded that rocky stream, to avoid 
the excessive toll which was demanded for the privilege of 
crossing upon the new bridge. Before going into camp 
near by, the Captain of a little train that had preceded 
us rode his horse rapidly into the stream in his effort to 
head off some intractable mules. The horse stumbled 
over some stones and fell upon its knees, throwing the 
rider over his head in a fairly executed somersault into 
the water. The feat evoked hearty applause from those 
who were fortunate enough to witness it. 

Now it happened that among the men with our train 
was a modest but vigorous young man named Ferdinand 
Lee, whom I had known quite well before he had served 
his full time during the war just ended as a private in the 
Second Wisconsin Regiment, which distinguished itself 
as part of the famous Iron Brigade. 

After supper I walked up the bank of the stream with 
Ferd, which was the name by which Lee was familiarly 
known, and we soon encountered a group of men com- 
posed of stragglers from two small parties that were 
camping near by and who like ourselves had gravitated 
toward the best camp fire. 

"Was it your Captain what made that h — 1 of a dive 
from his hoss into the river?" asked a tall, black- whisk- 



370 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

ered Southerner of a small, red-headed chap, who we 
learned later was known as Sandy. 

'T reckon it war. Didn't he do it all right?" was the 
reply. "What's your name, anyhow.'^" he continued. 

*'Well, it don't make much difference, but these fellows 
call me Shorty, and I was wondering if that Captain 
ever rid a hoss before." 

"Guess he has, because he says he was in the army and 
raided in Kentucky with the Rebs," replied Sandy. 
"Those Kentucky ans think they can ride, you know." 
And with this he took a seat upon a little rock, lighted a 
pipe, and others followed his example. 

*T guess you're a Yank," said Shorty. 

"Well, I reckon I am," said Sandy, "and while we are 
guessing I would put you down for a Johnny Reb." A 
frown came over Shorty's face, when he said, with some 
bitterness, "You think the Kentucky boys can't ride 
much, hey?" 

"I recollect hearing them tell about your General 
Winne, when he and some of his boys here were pretty 
close together near the Wilderness Tavern. He did the 
same thing in the water of Flat Run that your Captain 
did in Bear River." 

"War you in the Wilderness two years ago?" asked 
Sandy. 

"I was in the Iron Brigade of Maryland, sir." 

"Then I reckon you have seen General Winne. But 
don't you think you fellows did a lot of careless shooting 
around there?" 

"Wa'al, we pumped some lead the best we knew how, 
but were you careless enough to be standing around in 
that country when shooting was going on?" asked 
Shorty. 



THE BOARDING HOUSE TRAIN 371 

"There's a bullet inside of me that once in a while tells 
me that mebbe I wasn't in jest the right place." 

"What company were you in?" asked Shorty. 

"I was fooling around a little with the Twentieth 
Maine," was the reply, 

Ferd Lee had been a quiet but interested listener. One 
of our boys, without turning his head remarked that Lee 
just behind him did some business in the Wilderness. 

**Lee? That's a good Virginia name. But you were 
not in our Brigade, were you.'^" 

"No," replied Ferd. "I loafed around a few years with 
the Second Wisconsin in the Iron Brigade." 

Shorty instantly rose to his feet, and approaching 
Ferd said, "I have surely met you before, sir. Although 
I hate the Yankees, I respect the bravery of the men in 
your Brigade, and I want to shake your hand." 

Ferd rose, took the hand of the Confederate veteran, 
and they looked into each other's eyes as the firelight 
flickered in their faces, when Ferd said, "No men ever 
fought better than yours did." 

The Iron Brigade had earned its name through the 
valor and inflexible courage of its men on many battle- 
fields, and its Second Wisconsin Regiment had borne an 
honorable part in its achievement. 

Thus, for the first time since they had met in conflict 
on the battle-fields of Virginia, those veterans again 
confronted each other. True, the war was over, but it 
had left its bitterness. Nevertheless, like other brave 
men, they were impelled to respect the soldiers on the 
opposing side, whose deeds had been as valorous as those 
of any heroes immortalized in poetry and song. Until 
late that night, by the peaceful camp fire on the banks of 
Bear River, the boys rehearsed the thrilling events in 



372 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

which they had participated in the effort to shed each 
other's blood. 

As would naturally be supposed, Captain Whitmore, 
as the opportunity presented itself, gave me from time to 
time the story of his experience thus far during his trip. 
One event, the particulars of which were confirmed by 
his men, seemed to be so interesting that I asked him to 
describe it again to another party of travelers at our 
night's camp. It appears that one afternoon his ox 
train was slowly crawling along near the north slope of a 
low range of hills west of Julesburg. A family of emi- 
grants from Illinois consisting of a man, his wife, a grown 
son and a daughter about eighteen years of age, and a 
couple of assistants, had accompanied the train from the 
last military post. As these emigrants had horse teams, 
which travel somewhat faster than oxen, they were ac- 
customed to driving half a mile or more in advance of the 
big train, although they had been warned of the hazard; 
but there they were on that fatal day to receive unaided 
the brutal raid of a band of Indians which swooped down 
from the hills. John Wilson on horseback and Mr. Stone 
of Iowa on foot were out in opposite directions for a hunt. 
Simultaneously with the attack on the emigrant's wagons, 
Wilson was seen racing down a valley toward the train 
pushing his horse to the top of its speed, and in close pur- 
suit was a band of mounted savages yelling like demons. 
At the same moment Mr. Stone, who was in full view not 
a mile distant, became the object of an attack from still 
another detachment of warriors also on horse-back. The 
train was corralled in a circle for defense as speedily as 
possible. In the meantime Stone displayed marvelous 
tact and coolness. He was armed with a Henry repeat- 
ing rifle loaded with sixteen cartridges, and, as was the 



THE BOARDING HOUSE TRAIN 373 

usual custom with all hunters, he also carried in addition 
a case of loaded cartridges. On discovering the rapid 
approach of the savages he hastened to the top of a 
little mound that was near by and dropped upon his 
face. Pursuing their usual tactics the Indians in single 
file rode swiftly in a circle round and round the ap- 
parently doomed lowan, gradually approaching their 
victim, who would soon be within range of their arrows. 
Stone remained quiet for a few moments until his ene- 
mies, filing rapidly by the line of his aim as they passed, 
were within fairly safe range, and then his rifle, directed 
with careful precision, opened up a series of discharges 
such as they probably had never before seen, for the 
Henry was a newly invented weapon and the savages 
doubtless intended to close in as soon as the rifle should 
be discharged. In Stone's first series of shots he emptied 
three saddles of their riders and wounded two horses. 
While the savages then swung outward for a moment, 
time was given him to refill the chamber of his rifle with 
fresh cartridges when at once he renewed his defensive 
tactics, with results that were startling. The Indians 
who were still in action seemed to be perplexed by the 
strange, persistent weapon that was turned upon them, 
and slowly withdrew. Stone retreated toward the train 
and was soon under cover of its rifles. The emigrant's 
party fared badly. All were slaughtered except the young 
girl, who was captured alive and was taken off with the 
horses and the plunder from the wagons. I learned 
later that she remained in captivity until the following 
spring, when she was restored to the military and thence 
transported to her former home. 

Wilson reached a point where his exhausted horse, 
which had fully shared in the panic, fell prostrate to the 



374 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

ground and never again rose to its feet. The train, now 
well fortified and defended, escaped further loss. 

It may be remembered, as was narrated in another 
chapter, that in the early days of our expedition and away 
back in the little village of Churchville, Iowa, a young 
girl disguised in boy's apparel succeeded in joining the 
train and became an assistant to the man and his wife 
who were the cooks for the outfit. After our little party 
proceeded in advance of the big train from Nebraska 
City we received no definite tidings concerning its prog- 
ress until the meeting near Bridger, which has just been 
described. It was therefore a great surprise, on now 
again reaching the train, to learn that the girl had thus 
far shared the hardships and perils of the entire journey. 
What would lead a young, apparently modest, and pre- 
possessing country maid to embark on a long trip with 
a body of strangers destined to a far away Mormon town 
in the mountains? Before being permitted to proceed 
from Nebraska City, it appears that she gave out some 
statements concerning her history. From these it 
transpired that she was an orphan about nineteen years 
of age. She had a lover, who, she confidently believed, was 
in Salt Lake valley. It seemed to be the old story of a 
trustful, confiding girl and possibly a recreant wooer, in 
whom she still had unbounded faith. She was intelligent 
for one of her years and was apparently sincere and 
thoroughly in earnest. 

"Yes, he is right there in the valley, and he does not 
know that I am going to meet him," she said. But, 
young girl, there , are hundreds of canyons and branch 
canyons reaching out from the valleys around Salt Lake 
basin. Many of them are seldom tro dden. Some, diffi- 
cult of access, invite the adventurer to their remotest 



THE BOARDING HOUSE TRAIN 375 

nooks, where the fortune-hunter would seek for gold or 
silver. How will you find him? 

"Hope is a lover's staff," and on that frail support her 
future rested. She had come to be known to the boys 
with the train, many of whom had been soldiers, as the 
child of the regiment. 

We well remember how she then appeared as she was 
about to enter practically alone into the turbulent life 
of the little city of Salt Lake, for it must be understood 
that the train men must there separate, and while she 
might receive some assistance, she must fight her own 
battles. 

If any old resident of Churchville, Iowa, knew a bright, 
handsome young girl of medium height with dark hair 
and big dark eyes who in the spring of sixty-six suddenly 
disappeared from that village he may get this little 
glimpse of her history. Her real name was always with- 
held. The name by which she was known to our boys 
would have no significance to her former acquaintances. I 
never saw her again after the train reached the city. She 
suddenly vanished in the whirlpool of western life. 

It was reported that a young girl answering the de- 
scription of our whilom ward was one morning seen riding 
alone on horse-back up City Creek canyon, to which 
valley hundreds of men had that year been attracted by 
rumors of gold discoveries. And so must end a tale half- 
told. 

During those days I was assisting on horse-back in 
various ways, and at times conducting the long train 
round the sharp curves in the canyons. Six or eight yokes 
of oxen drawing two large wagons coupled together is a 
long thing in itself, stretching out perhaps 150 feet. It 
may run beautifully on a straight road, but in rounding 



B76 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

a short bend in a narrow roadway, where the inside of the 
bend is on the edge of a precipice, the tendency is to 
bring the wagons dangerously near the brink. 

On the third of October, our train was winding along 
the narrow roadway among the cliffs of Silver Creek 
Canyon. Looking across a deep ravine before us we ob- 
served the last wagon in the train that was crawling along 
in advance of ours, to be encroaching on the edge of a 
precipice, and in a moment a wheel slipped over the 
bank. The great prairie schooner capsized, breaking 
the tongue, detaching the wagon from the teams, and 
turned upside down. Down, down it rolled, repeatedly 
bounding over rocks and through bushes, until it found 
a resting place quite out of sight near the bottom of the 
canyon. As we approached the scene of the catastrophe 
an odor, recognized by experienced drivers as of whiskey, 
came from the wreck of the wagon. We passed on as 
soon as the way could be opened. A number of men from 
the delayed train seemed inspired with a benevolent im- 
pulse that led them to assist in saving something from the 
wreck, and were soon clambering down the rocks toward 
the spot from which the fragrance came the strongest. 

We learned nothing of the final results of the work of 
this salvage corps. Their voices, which came up from 
the hidden depths, indicated that they had found some- 
thing, and the odors were evidence that enough fire water 
had been spilled to have made a whole tribe of the sol- 
emnest Indians hilarious. 

On the afternoon of the same day, in going down a 
steep descent in the same canyon, the failure to fasten the 
brake on one of our wagons caused the two that were 
coupled together to gain so much headway that they 
pressed the ox teams into a frightened mass. The break- 



THE BOARDING HOUSE TRAIN 377 

ing of the wagon tongue turned the wagons down a long 
steep slope leaving the road more than five hundred feet 
above. We now had our own troubles. After taking a 
survey of our wreck, which consisted of a load of mis- 
cellaneous merchandise and a wagon in trail, on which 
was a heavy boiler, I rode back to the little settlement of 
Wanship for articles needed in repairs. 

In the meantime the train was corralled further down 
the canyon, and the stock wandered up the mountain 
valleys. 

In the morning many oxen were missing which it was 
my pleasure to assist in finding, for I loved the hills. 
Mounting a horse, I ascended a ravine and crossed two 
or three mountain spurs where it was hoped a glimpse 
of the strays or their tracks might be obtained. 

Looking from a concealed position across a deep valley, 
I observed on the opposite slope an animal which I be- 
came satisfied was a mountain sheep, the Big Horn. I 
had seen many specimens of the various animals and 
birds indigenous to the West, but never a mountain 
sheep, except in captivity. They are wary animals, and 
like the chamois of the Alps are at home on the rocky 
cliffs. I must be cautious. My horse was fastened be- 
hind me, out of view, down the mountain slope. My 
Henry rifle was in good condition. Lying on my face 
while carefully sighting through the underbrush, I felt 
myself to be absolutely safe from discovery. Calculat- 
ing the distance as accurately as possible, a careful aim 
was taken, but the bullet fell far short of the mark, strik- 
ing the rocks away beneath. The animal was evidently 
unconscious of my death-dealing purpose, and nestled 
quietly half-concealed in a growth of underbrush. 
Another shot was fired, when it became evident that my 



378 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

Henry was not of sufficiently long range to reach the 
game. The opportunity before me was too rare to be 
sacrificed without effort. Therefore, after tying a silk 
handkerchief to a limb to mark the trail to my horse, I 
skirted the spur of the mountain, on foot, slowly de- 
scended into the ravine, and laboriously clambered up the 
other side. 

The time and effort expended in accomplishing the 
ascent to the other side made it clear that I had been 
greatly deceived in the distance, but I was happy to make 
any physical effort to secure a mountain sheep. The 
last quarter of a mile must be made with exceeding cau- 
tion, because the quick ear of the Big Horn would catch 
any unusual sound. After more than an hour of vig- 
orous but cautious climbing, an eligible point was reached, 
toward which my course had been directed, and with 
rifle ready to fire on the first sight of the game, my head 
was slowly raised above a projecting rock in confidence 
that the game had not ascended the mountain. There 
it was in full view, not more than a hundred yards dis- 
tant. It certainly had horns, but the sight of half a 
dozen ordinary sheep huddled together in the back- 
ground revealed to my obtuse consciousness the fact 
that my game was a ram, which was guarding a little 
flock of domestic sheep similar to those with which we are 
all familiar. 

Shall victory be wrested from defeat? Our boys 
needed meat, and I could tumble a sheep's carcass down 
the mountain side. Conflicting emotions throbbed with- 
in my breast, until approaching the sheep I was con- 
fronted by a tough-looking mountaineer, after which I 
cared less for mutton. 

"What are ye doin' up here?" was his interrogatory. 



THE BOARDING HOUSE TRAIN 379 

"Oh, I'm out a hunting." 

"What kind of game are ye after?" he asked. 

"Oh, any nice game that needs a good shot." 

I noticed that the stranger had a revolver at his side, 
and in a few moments another slouched-hat individual 
emerged from a little hut in a side ravine. 

"What kind of a rifle is that you've got.'^" 

"It's a Henry." 

"I've hear'n of one but never seen one before. Lemme 
see it," said the mountaineer. He took the gun from me 
and carefully looked it over. "Where are you from, 
anyhow?" he asked, without taking his eyes from the 
gun. I gave the name of the town without any addi- 
tional facts. Continuing, he said, "I was there once. I 
lived up in Bark Woods awhile. Do you know where 
Pumpkin Holler is, just beyond Hebron?" 

"Yes." 

"Did you ever know Jim Roach, who hauled logs to 
Joe Powers' saw mill at Hebron?" 

"The holler is several miles from my town, but I think 
I have heard the name," I replied. 

"Didn't you ever hear of Jim Roach's nephew Ben?" 
he asked. 

"Maybe I have," was the answer. 

"Well!" said the mountaineer, "I'm him." 



CHAPTER XXVIII 
Some Episodes In Stock Hunting 

IN later years, through the influence of one of its 
ambitious citizens, the little settlement referred 
to in the last chapter as Pumpkin Holler had come 
to be known by the more classic if less appropriate 
name of Rome. There was, however, nothing in 
my recollection of that sleepy crossroads or of its alleged 
former citizen, Benjamin Roach, and his friend, that would 
tempt me to remain longer than necessary in their moun- 
tain fastness, nor did I invoke their aid or inform them 
that a number of our cattle had strayed up the adjacent 
valleys. It was the current belief that some men who 
lived in those parts, having no other visible means of 
support, were inclined to care for stray stock, and pur- 
sued that avocation as a pastime chiefly in their own in- 
terest. As soon, therefore, as the Henry rifle was again 
in my hands, I retreated down the mountain side through 
the thickets of underbrush and then up the other side of 
the valley. The silk handkerchief, which had been left 
on the opposite cliff as a landmark, served a good pur- 
pose as it enabled me to reach my horse by a fairly direct 
course. 

The lengthening shadows on the mountain slopes were 
a warning that I should speedily proceed to the business 
of hunting cattle. It was nearly sunset when I caught 
a glimpse of oxen nearly a mile distant and partly con- 
cealed by a grove near which they were grazing. Being 
confident that they were part of our missing stock I 
started to reach them. The steep, rough, and rocky 
mountain slope which was hurriedly descended in the 

380 



SOME EPISODES IN STOCK HUNTING 381 

quest was ill adapted to horse-back riding and the path- 
less groves of underbrush proved to be serious obstruc- 
tions to progress. Becoming entangled in the unyielding 
branches the stock of my rifle was broken squarely off, 
and a few new holes in size beyond the skill of the novice 
to repair, were punched through my garments in places 
where additional holes were unnecessary. On emerging 
into an open space, it was found that both horse and 
rider had received a few scratches, and the bridle was 
broken. All these mishaps were ordinary incidents to 
which any stock hunter is subject if he is inclined to 
wander unnecessarily into new and untrodden paths, but 
the big whip, the favorite artillery of the cowboy, was 
saved. Our wayward oxen were finally rounded up far 
up a valley where the grass grows the greenest, but with 
temper not unlike that of men they evidently preferred 
the freedom of the mountains to a condition of servitude. 
Apparently understanding my purpose they scattered 
in a wild race to avoid, if possible, being again brought 
under the heavy yoke, but were finally brought to the 
corral down the canyon. 

Our troubles were not yet ended. On the following 
day two more wagon wheels collapsed on a steep slope. 
The train was again halted. The stock was turned out 
upon the range with its numerous ramifications of ravines 
and thickets, and before the morning dawned many of the 
animals were out of our sight. 

We were not traveling on schedule time, yet this delay 
brought forth some outbursts of profanity from those who 
were accustomed to swear, all of which produced no 
effect on the cattle scattered up the valleys. On the 
following morning there began another series of experi- 
ences in hunting stock, which afforded a fair illustration 



382 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

of the manner in which the Western Mountaineer of that 
day lived and tried to sleep. 

Taking a heavy horse, which unfortunately was not 
adapted to mountain climbing, I started alone southward 
up a long side ravine directed in part by the tracks of the 
oxen. Having reached rather a high altitude, and de- 
siring to obtain a better view of the surrounding country, 
I followed the projecting spur of a barren mountain, 
which on further advance proved to be unexpectedly 
steep. In turning a crest of the ridge my horse stumbled, 
and while I very properly landed on the uphill side, he 
rolled completely over downward, and after a series of 
evolutions impossible to describe, became anchored flat 
upon his back, tightly wedged in against a small solitary 
quaking asp tree, which fortunately stood upon the edge 
of an almost perpendicular declivity at whose foot, 
several hundred feet below, was a wet swamp, in which 
was a dense thicket of willows, possibly the source of a 
mountain brook. The feet of the horse were pawing the 
air. After a few ineffectual efforts to disengage himself 
he turned his head and cast a pathetic glance downward, 
evidently realizing his dangerous and helpless position. 
As a matter of fact, the situation was not pleasant either 
for the horse or for him who was partly responsible for its 
plight. 

After carefully crawling down to where he was held as 
in a vise, I unloosed his saddle girths and supporting my- 
self partly by the little tree and partly by the rock be- 
neath it, seized the horse by his foretop and slowly swung 
him round until his head turned up the slope, and then 
assisted him to roll upon his face as a preliminary to an 
effort to rise upon his feet. He took one more solemn 
thoughtful look downward toward the gulf beneath him. 



SOME EPISODES IN STOCK HUNTING 383 

and then began his struggle for life in the effort to gain a 
safe footing up the mountain side, to which effort I gave 
some assistance from my anchorage. I put my trust in 
the quaking asp and held to it firmly until the loose stones 
which the horse dislodged in his scramble had rolled by, 
and then dragging the saddle, I slowly crawled up by the 
same pathway and found the animal quietly awaiting my 
arrival, with an expression upon his countenance that 
seemed to indicate a desire to give thanks for what was 
really a narrow escape from a disastrous plunge. He was 
again saddled, but was not again mounted until we reached 
a safer footing. Finding myself at a point from which it 
seemed that the summit of the mountain could now be 
reached, and led as is the average young man by an ir- 
repressible desire to descend into the deepest hole or 
reach the top of the highest hill at any time within the 
range of vision, I determined to complete the ascent and 
take a look down upon that part of the world. On near- 
ing the summit I observed a dense mist slowly creeping 
along the eastern slope of the mountain and bridging the 
ravine with soft billowy folds upon which the bright sun- 
light rested. When it had risen to within a few hundred 
feet of my course, the cloud became luminous for an in- 
stant. The flash was quickly followed by a sharp report 
like the discharge of a piece of artillery at hand and the 
detonation combined with its echo back from another 
mountain side in one single sharp response. This was 
quickly repeated three or four times with startling effect. 
As I have often observed, when thunder storms among 
mountain peaks float beneath the observer, there is no 
prolonged roar and rumbling, as when the deep-toned 
thunder reverberates above lower levels. The prospect 
of being wTapped in the cold and wet embrace of the ris- 



384 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

ing storm clouds, when upon a difficult and untried moun- 
tain pathway, was not cheering. The sky overhead had 
been clear, and the bright light intensified the grandeur 
and beauty of the soft billows below, which seemed as 
sharply outlined as the waves of the ocean, but there came 
some scurrying clouds in a higher stratum above the 
summit which later sent down driving snow flakes, all of 
which melted in the air on nearly the level where I stood, 
on coming into contact with the warmer current near the 
storm below. The lower storm did not rise to the moun- 
tain top, but majestically moved onward somewhere by a 
course the eye could not follow, and on its fleeing skirts 
was painted a beautiful rainbow, as welcome in its prom- 
ise of hope as any I have ever seen. The complete arch, 
perfect in every detail, its bright hues radiant against 
the dark background, rested in the deep valley far be- 
neath. The sky had again cleared and in many direc- 
tions the bright sun lit up the sides of the surrounding 
mountains, and slowly the coveted view of the extensive 
landscape of mountain and valley unfolded. That storm 
was a glorious spectacle never to be forgotten. The 
mountain slopes as revealed when the clouds rolled by 
were seen to be scarred by narrow ravines dark and 
gloomy in the path of the retreating storm and in strik- 
ing contrast with the little patches of glistening snow on 
many of the northern slopes, relics perhaps of some less 
recent snow fall. The view from any mountain top in- 
spires the most phlegmatic with some emotion, but on 
this Utah peak the sense of cold and hunger began in 
time to assert itself. 

I was supposed, also, to be hunting stock, and not even 
the dullest ox would go to a rocky barren mountain top 
to feed. I ventured to attempt a descent by a course 



SOME EPISODES IN STOCK HUNTING 385 

other than that first taken and leading down another 
valley. After a few miles of travel I was surprised by 
the welcome sight of a little log cabin, the first human 
habitation discovered during the day. The little hom*e 
seemed to offer a much desired protection for the coming 
night. My thoughts upon the subject were frankly ex- 
pressed to a woman having slightly gray hair, who stood 
in the open door as I approached. She invited me to 
hitch my horse and come in. Accepting a proffered 
chair, I soon found myself in the presence of five com- 
paratively young women, none but the one already men- 
tioned being apparently more than twenty-five years of 
age. The women, some of whom remained standing, 
gathered round in a rather expectant attitude, as if de- 
siring to see and hear all that might transpire. Although 
not a close observer of women's apparel, a single glance 
showed me that there was a striking similarity in the 
material and style of their dresses and sun-bonnets. 

*'Are all these young women members of your family?" 
I asked. 

"Yes, there are seven of us here." 

**A fine large family, indeed," said I, "but is the man 
of the house here?" 

"No," replied the older woman, "he is down at Provo 
with some cattle." 

"And you women are up here alone, and I suppose it 
is your husband who is at Provo," I added with the hope 
that the answer might shed some daylight upon the re- 
lationship which the women held one to another. Some 
of the women quietly glanced one at another, until one 
of them replied in the affirmative. Here then the re- 
markable Scripture had had a remarkable fulfilment: 
"In those days it shall come to pass that seven women 
.shall lay hold upon one man," 



386 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

Two of the seven, who during our preUminary conversa- 
tion had been outside, now entered the room from the 
rear, apparently aware that there was a caller in the 
house. Visits not being frequent events in their se- 
cluded home, they would naturally desire to share the in- 
terest of any new face, be it welcome or otherwise. 

The family was now supposed to be accounted for and 
present except the pater-familiasy and to what extent 
the absent member was entitled to the distinction of be- 
ing a father had not yet become clear to me, nor to what 
extent he was a husband. 

I observed that the cabin consisted of a single room, of 
fairly good size, and what appeared to be a small kitchen 
under a rudely constructed lean-to, built against the rear 
of the cottage. On opposite sides of the main room were 
berths made of balsam poles and constructed in tiers of 
three, one above another. There was no ceiling or attic 
above the room, which was open to the sloping roof. 
There being twelve berths, the provisions for sleeping 
were manifestly ample, and on being informed that I 
could be accommodated for the night I decided to re- 
main at least for supper, after which my judgment would 
be more enlightened. I was fearfully hungry. They 
would have supper at five o'clock. An old fashioned 
fall-leaf table was pulled out from the wall, the leaves 
were lifted up, and the preparation was begun, when I 
stepped out from the door to take an observation. 

In a running brook I washed my hands and wiped 
them partly on my clothes, using a soiled handkerchief 
that had begun to simulate alarmingly the likeness of an 
old map of Africa, but still discharged in some measure 
the duty of detergence. Having parted my hair with 
my pocket comb and being now ready for the feast I 




DEAD MAN S FALLS, LITTLE COTTONWOOD, UTAH 



SOME EPISODES IN STOCK HUNTING 387 

strolled round the little log cabin, which to me was in- 
vested with almost as much interest as the Yildiz Kiosk 
when it was the home of Abdul Hamid. A voice at the 
door announced that supper was ready, and I responded 
with alacrity. There were eight seats at the table, two 
on each side, and all were speedily occupied. The dishes 
with the food served had all been placed upon the bare 
table, to be passed round. The luxury of a linen spread 
was not to be expected in an out of the way western 
mountain cabin, and what with hot tea, brown sugar and 
milk, cold meat and bread, all seemed appetizing enough. 

I soon learned that the family were Mormons, but did 
not ascertain definitely to what extent that cult had 
brought them under the sway of one husband, though 
it appeared probable that three of the young women were 
still free to form matrimonial alliance. 

Women were present in number sufficient to give con- 
tinuity to the conversation, in the course of which I 
glanced round at the berths in the room and finally asked 
where, in case I should remain for the night, they would 
put me. To them the problem presented no difficulty. 
In fact, it was not uncommon on the frontier in early 
days for several families to be sheltered over night in a 
single room almost as satisfactorily as is now done in a 
Pullman sleeper, and with as little disturbance from 
sonorous slumberers who sometimes unwittingly throw 
their neighbors into a panic. I was present on one 
occasion when Costello, the well-known rancher in South 
Park, on a stormy night entertained forty-six sleepers — 
men and women — in three rooms. He said he believed 
he could handle two or three more, but it might make it a 
little crowded. 

"Is there another cabin not far away, where the man of 



388 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

the house is likely to be at home?" I asked, when the 
supper was over. After a little thought one of the women 
stated that about a mile down the canyon there lived an 
old fellow, at what was known as the toll gate. 

"O yes," said another, "y<^u mean the Scotchman." 
The suggestion afforded an opportunity for retreat. 
Thanking the women, I paid for my supper and received 
definite instructions concerning the path, as the darkness 
of evening had begun to settle on the valley. I reached 
the other little hut, recognizing it first by the firelight 
shining through the small window. My approach to the 
cabin was proclaimed by the deep-toned barking of dogs 
from within. A "hello" brought the keeper to the door. 
Driving back the animals, and commanding them to shut 
up, he gave me an opportunity through the half open door 
to ask his permission to stay all night with him, which 
request was granted as a matter of course. Having ar- 
ranged for some feed for my horse, we entered the hut. 
The Scotchman, who (I learned later) was well known by 
many Mormon people, was the sole occupant of the cabin, 
except that three huge mastiffs shared his company. On 
entering I took a seat in an uneasy chair before the fire, 
and the Scotchman, who was uncommunicative and not 
especially hospitable, soon stretched himself out upon the 
only bench in the room, wrapped himself up in his blan- 
ket, and fell asleep. The dogs, with half-opened eyes 
directed toward me as they were stretched before the fire- 
place, had become reconciled to my presence. The 
flickering firelight, which enabled me to write a few sen- 
tences in my note book, also exposed a dirty earth floor 
not covered at any point with boards. I had no blanket 
and the prospect for repose was dismal. As a diversion I 
wandered out into the night toward the place where my 



SOME EPISODES IN STOCK HUNTING 389 

horse had been hitched, near which I had noticed a small 
pile of fresh straw, four or five feet in height. It oc- 
curred to me that this pile exactly met my requirements, 
and compared with it the Scotchman's dirt floor was not 
to be considered for a moment. The sky was now clear, 
and the air was still. In the distance here and there arose 
the occasional yelp of timber wolves, doubtless on their 
regular nocturnal patrol as scavengers. Investigation 
revealed the presence of pigs, which had burrowed out a 
comfortable nest in the straw stack. After a few 
punches, two animals with many grunts of reluctance 
consented to vacate their bed. I immediately crawled, 
feet first, quite out of sight into the nest. It was a far 
better bed than the soldiers had been accustomed to 
sleep in, during the Civil War. The cares of the day 
were soon forgotten in slumber, but early in the morning 
I was suddenly awakened by the jumping of heavy ani- 
mals upon the straw pile above me and by the angry 
barking of dogs, the deep baying of which came through 
the passage to my nest. Their noses were soon thrust 
into the straw at the entrance. The three big mastiffs 
in the Caledonian's lodge on the previous night had been 
turned loose for their morning airing and had scented the 
presence of an intruder in the straw pile. Every word 
that I spoke to them served but to augment their savage 
howls and barking. I had often run badgers and other 
burrowing animals into their holes, but had never before 
so fully realized the deplorable straits to which I had re- 
duced them. 

I managed to extricate my revolver from the belt but 
remembered that its flash would set the straw on fire, nor 
did I care to incur the hostility of the surly Scot by shoot- 
ing one of his dearest friends and protectors. Already 



390 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

I had had trouble enough. The Highlander's attention 
was finally attracted by the excited conduct of his dogs 
and naturally believing that they had covered some big 
game in the straw pile he urged them on and returned to 
the cabin for his gun. My voice was smothered and 
muffled by the straw pile and drowned in the incessant 
howling and barking of the three dogs, and still I would 
not shoot until they should make an attack. Yelling 
at the top of my voice I finally made the Scotchman 
aware that the sound proceeded from a human being and 
that the import of my entreaty was that he call off his 
dogs, else I must shoot, and that I was the fellow whom 
he received the night before. His response inspired me 
with hope. Laying aside his gun he took one and then 
another of the savage mastiffs by the tail, pulled them 
back and fought them off, until at length he got between 
them and the hole under the straw stack. As I emerged, 
the vicious beasts made another plunge, but in some way 
I struggled to my feet, when possibly the excited animals 
recognized me as the guest of their master and their in- 
terest subsided, though for some time they maintained 
close watch, apparently ready on the slightest hint to 
renew hostilities. The Scot informed me that his dogs 
were great on wolves and were well-trained. Nothing in 
addition to my recent observations was necessary to con- 
vince me that the dogs were great on any game. 

The reader may recall that I had an understanding 
with Captain Whitmore that the wagon train would pro- 
ceed to Salt Lake City as rapidly as possible, to deliver 
merchandise that had been long in transit. As the grade 
from the head of Parley's Canyon to the city was steadily 
downward, this could be accomplished without the ser- 
vice of the missing cattle, but I was to remain in the 



SOME EPISODES IN STOCK HUNTING 391 

mountains and recover them, if possible. The next two 
days were devoted to this work, and having ascended one 
ravine after another, late on the afternoon of October 8th 
I emerged from the mountains with all the missing cattle 
in a herd before me. We came out over the high bench 
by the upper road, which has since been abandoned, and 
from which elevation against the light of the setting sun 
could be seen the Jordan Valley and the western moun- 
tains beyond. There were reasons for self -congratula- 
tion on reflecting that the cattle hunt was so near a suc- 
cessful termination. It was in the early twilight, and 
hardly two miles separated the truant oxen from the 
city corral, when for no cause apparent to me all the 
cattle suddenly stopped, wheeled from the road and with 
heads and tails in the air started in various directions at 
the top of their speed. My horse sharing in the panic 
became almost unmanageable, but with him I started in 
pursuit. 

It appears that in the preceding year a firm possessed 
of more enterprise than business acumen had imported 
from the Orient a herd of camels, intending to use them 
for the transportation of freight across the arid country 
south of Salt Lake. 

In the dusk of evening the stock under my care had 
caught a glimpse of this herd of grotesque long-necked 
beasts approaching them. It was a sight the like of 
which they probably had never before beheld. Escap- 
ing hurriedly with my frightened horse I was carried 
through what I believe was an irrigating ditch into the 
rough ground beyond, whence for the first time I dis- 
cerned in outline the swaying towering heads of the awk- 
ward camels that had caused the stampede. Then the 
pursuit of the panic-stricken oxen was renewed, my hope 



392 THE|A WAKENING OF THE DESERT 

being that they might be brought back into the road be- 
fore the darkness of the on-coming night should make it 
impossible to follow them. Racing at night on horse- 
back over rough and unknown grounds, under the leader- 
ship of a frightened steer, may be conducive to health, 
but when at eight o'clock all the oxen were brought up 
near the gate of the corral in the City of the Saints, I was 
happy to call for help and turn over the 'whole bloomin* 
outfit' to the care of fresh herders. 



CHAPTER XXIX 

w 

Adventures Of An Amateur Detective 

IT was long after the time of which we are writing 
that Conan Doyle led his readers into some of the 
secrets of detecting crime by the observance of 
circumstances devoid of significance to the ordi- 
nary searcher for clues. It is also true that the 
legal devices by which the guilty are now-a-days gen- 
erally enabled to escape punishment had not been 
brought to their present high state of perfection. 

In the corral in Salt Lake City where our wagons and 
stock were temporarily cared for, there were also other 
outfits having drivers concerning whose character our 
captain had little knowledge, but the conduct and general 
appearance of some of them led him to believe that they 
were not quite incapable of disregarding on occasion the 
artificial distinction between mine and thine. 

One morning three mule trains said to be bound for 
Montana pulled out from the corral, and on the same day 
it was discovered that several articles were missing from 
our wagons. This interesting synchronism led our men 
generally to believe that our property had accompanied 
one of those trains, which were soon beyond the jurisdic- 
tion of Salt Lake officers. A Sherlock Holmes might 
have discerned some further hint pointing to the authors 
of the larceny, but we could find none. We decided to 
rely upon general suspicion as sufficient ground for action 
and to proceed accordingly. 

In the Western territories, and especially outside any of 
the few settlements, according to the unwritten law, horse 
stealing was treated as a capital offense. Therefore, if 

393 



394 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

it had been a horse that was stolen from us, a posse com- 
itatus would doubtless have been at once put upon the 
trail, fully equipped to execute the conventional punish- 
ment, but the saddles, bridles, and blankets that formed 
a portion of our loss, though equine accoutrements and 
exceeding in value an average horse, still left the crime 
in the rank of mild offenses, along with other misde- 
meanors forbidden by the decalogue. For some reason 
that no one could ever even guess, it was urged that I, 
even I, should pursue the trains and ascertain, if possi- 
ble, if the stuff was under their care. I consented, per- 
haps foolishly, to make the venture. A search warrant 
was secured, which purported to invest me with authority 
to detain and examine the trains in question, in other 
words assigning to me the duties of deputy sheriff or de- 
tective, I hardly knew which ; but I was well aware of the 
fact that the instrument given me really had no legal 
force beyond the city limits, and I doubted if it had much 
value anywhere, but it was quite a good-looking and im- 
pressive piece of paper, and with it I started very early 
the next morning for the North. 

As my duties had seldom brought me to the corral, I 
expected to be a stranger to all the freighters whom I was 
pursuing, but had seen enough of them on one brief visit 
to be convinced that among them were a number of 
tough characters, yet I saw no reason why, as an officer 
of the law, I should not receive permission to examine the 
wagons, if the wagon master himself should be innocent. 

It was sometime after noon when a mule train was ob- 
served in the distance, and on reaching it I learned from 
one of the drivers that the name of the owners was upon 
the search warrant. The captain of the train, on horse- 
back in the lead, stopped as requested, and the paper 



ADVENTURES OF AN AMATEUR DETECTIVE 395 

was read to him. After a little consideration the captain 
said **Do you intend, young man, to stop my train here 
and go through all these wagons? I replied, "That is 
what I came all the way from Salt Lake City to do," but 
I would be as expeditious as possible and desired his per- 
sonal assistance. "Well," he replied, "if there is any 
stolen property in this outfit I don't know it, but sup- 
pose you can look through the wagons." He ordered the 
train to halt. Calling an assistant, he said, "Hold this 
oflScer's horse." Accompanying me to the head wagon 
I made as thorough a search there as possible, repeating 
the process through each wagon, the captain, who ap- 
peared to be a fair man, keeping in close company. Some 
of the men seemed somewhat averse to an examination of 
their private effects under such peculiar circumstances, 
but a regard for the dignity of the law, and the presence 
of the captain of the train who had assented to the search, 
doubtless prevented any serious opposition. 

Having completed the examination which required 
little more than an hour, and thanking the captain for 
his assistance, I announced that the property did not ap- 
pear to be in the possession of any of his men and that 
all was satisfactory. 

By proceeding again more rapidly, another train was 
reached quite late in the afternoon, and a thorough search 
was made through the merchandise in each wagon, all of 
which was accomplished without serious opposition, but 
none of the missing property was found. It was evident 
that the third train could not be overtaken and searched 
that evening, but I pressed on Northward and darkness 
came on quite early. 

At the right near by to the East, the Wasatch range of 
mountains paralleled the old Montana road and the 



396 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

shore of Great Salt Lake, which lay to the West. Snow 
storms had been falling in the mountains for several days, 
and the white mantle extended well out over the foothills 
and upon the higher slopes of the valley through which 
the road led. The night was chilly, and I hastened on 
rapidly, hoping soon to find some cabin in which to spend 
the night, but for many miles no habitation was visible. 
The road traversed a long stretch of arid land, which then 
offered no attraction to a settler, although it is now well 
cultivated. It had become quite dark and from the 
direction of the mountains there came the frequent yelp- 
ing of wolves. This brought to mind the information 
that had come to Captain Whitmore the preceding day, 
that a herd of our cattle which had been pasturing in the 
mountains had since the first snowfall been stampeded 
by wolves and driven for many miles. Four of the oxen 
had been bitten by the sharp teeth of the pursuing wolves 
until they were unable to go further. The term used by 
the herders in these cases is that the cattle were "ham- 
strung," the tendons of the legs being severed. One of 
the weaker oxen was killed and partly eaten before the 
herders were able to come to the rescue. It was evident 
that the wolves were now becoming hungry and were 
coming down to the lower land away from the snow for 
food. For a time I gave little attention to the howling, 
as it was not unusual in many parts of the West, but as I 
jogged along I observed that the noises were becoming 
much more distinct and continuous, and it soon became 
evident that the wolves were gathering in considerable 
numbers and were following closely. My horse was be- 
coming disturbed and started off at good speed, but the 
wolves had no difficulty in keeping the pace. I had with 
me two Colt revolvers, one in the holster of the saddle 



ADVENTURES OF AN AMATEUR DETECTIVE 397 

and one in my belt. The principal danger was that if the 
wolves came nearer, they might nip the legs of the horse 
and cripple him. It was impossible to see them distinctly, 
but on catching the first outline of their forms a few feet 
behind the horse I issued a warning in the form of a flash 
from the pistol and a bullet to suggest that some of them 
were liable to get hurt. Their noises were then so fre- 
quent that I was not certain if one had been hit. Startled 
somewhat perhaps by the report of the pistol, they 
dropped back for a moment but again renewed the chase 
and continued their disagreeable yelps. It appeared 
evident that the safest plan was to keep going. My horse 
seemed fully to concur in this opinion. The ammunition 
must be used only in emergencies, when the persistent 
creatures crowded too close on the horse's heels. The 
firing was repeated a number of times as they closed in 
upon me. The chase was continued for several miles, 
until the pursuers, which may have scented some ac- 
cessible carrion, after one of the pistol shots abandoned the 
chase to the eminent satisfaction of both horse and rider. 
It was nearly nine o'clock when there appeared the 
welcome light of a candle shining through the little win- 
dow of a cabin on the west side of the road. To my call 
from outside the gate, as I rode up, a man soon answered 
by coming to the door. Having announced the fact I 
had suspected for several hours, that I was very hungry 
and that my horse must be in a similar condition, I asked 
permission to enjoy the hospitalities of his cabin for the 
night, to which he promptly replied, "Sartain! you go 
right in, and wife will get you some supper, and I'll 
take care of your horse," which by that time I had led 
through the gate. Turning to the woman who stood 
near him, and who had been an interested observer, he 



398 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

asked her to prepare a supper. While this work was 
proceeding in the room where I was sitting by the fire, 
I quietly and expectantly enjoyed the fragrance of coffee 
and fried bacon. I was about to take seat at the table, 
when the head of the household again entered and re- 
ported that he had waited a little for the horse to cool off, 
and then had watered and fed him. As I was transfer- 
ring the first slices of bacon to my plate, the gentleman 
opened the conversation by the question, *'Where are you 
from?" 

"I just came up from Salt Lake City to-day. I left 
there this morning. Your wife tells me that your name 
is Childs," I added, and then gave him my name. 

"Yes," he replied, "my name is Childs, but I presumed 
that you were from the States. Is Salt Lake your home?" 

"No. I have spent three or four months there. My 
home is in Wisconsin." 

"I had a brother once who lived in Wisconsin," said 
Mr. Childs. 

"Oh, yes. I know him very well." 

"You know him?" exclaimed my host. "Why do you 
think you know him? I haven't even told you his name 
or where he lived." 

"His name is John Childs," said I, starting in on a sec- 
ond cup of coffee. 

The man and his wife gazed at each other with ex- 
pressions of surprise. The fact was that I did well 
know a prominent farmer, an old and esteemed settler 
in Wisconsin, whose name was John Childs, and as 
he was the only man I did know who bore that family 
name, I took a flyer in jest, and it happened to hit the 
mark. 

"Where did the John Childs that you know live?" 



ADVENTURES OF AN AMATEUR DETECTIVE 399 

asked my host. '*In Lima, Wisconsin,'* was my prompt 
answer. 

*'Then he is probably not my brother. My brother 
went to Whitewater." 

*'0h, that's all right," said I, "but you are mistaken 
in the supposition that your brother lives in Whitewater. 
He lives in the town of Lima, but the villages are only 
six miles apart. The railroad station is known as 
Child's Station." 

This statement on my part was not so remarkable as 
it would appear to be, because I was familiar with the 
situation. 

**Do you mean to say that he is now living?" asked 
Mr. Childs, as he drew very close to me at the table, 
while his wife also took a seat and listened intently. 

"Living? He was living six months ago and weighs 
fully 200 pounds. I know nearly every man in all that 
country." 

Mr. Childs of Utah paused a moment and then said 
to his wife, "Send over to the boys to come here at once, 
and we will wait until they arrive, for I wish them to hear 
all about this matter." Turning to me he added, "I 
have two brothers who live in the two houses beyond 
here, and I wish them to hear all that you will say." I 
then turned the subject to the purpose of my trip North. 
I told him of the lost property and of the improper con- 
duct of the wolves back in the desert. He then informed 
me that one of his brothers was the constable for that 
township. 

The brothers having arrived, Mr. Childs introduced 
them and then narrated to them the conversation which 
had passed between us concerning their brother, John, 
to which they listened with profound interest. Turning 



400 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

to me he said *'We all Kved in St. Lawrence County, New 
York. We three brothers who are here became converted 
to the Mormon doctrines while we lived in New York 
state and soon came to Utah with others of our faith, but 
John and other relatives were not reconciled to our ac- 
tion. John, as we understood, went to Wisconsin and 
settled in Whitewater. We wrote him a letter but he 
never made reply, and since that time no tidings from 
him have reached us." 

'*Your communication doubtless went to the Dead 
Letter office," said I. "Although John is well known and 
is perhaps thirty years older than I am, a letter addressed 
to the wrong post-office might not have reached him if 
written before he was as well known as he is now. How 
long is it since you heard concerning him.^^" 

"About twenty years. We supposed that even if living 
he was still unwilling to renew friendly relations with us, 
and all because of the fact that he did not agree with 
us in our religious belief." 

Thus had the Scripture been fulfilled, and families and 
peoples been divided, all the way down through genera- 
tions. That evening by the big open fire was an occa- 
sion of great interest. The family was told of their 
brother's prosperity and high social position, and that 
he was a man of recognized honor. We separated at a 
late hour, and I retired leaving the brothers still convers- 
ing. In the morning, having learned that I would soon 
return to Wisconsin they asked me to send for the brother 
on my arrival there and tell him of my meeting with his 
Mormon brethren and that the information given might 
be full and definite they showed me their farms, stock 
and harvested grains. Mr. Childs declined to accept 
anything for my entertaimennt. 



ADVENTURES OF AN AMATEUR DETECTIVE 401 

The sequel of this incident may as well be related here 
before pursuing further the events of this horseback ride. 
Several weeks after spending the night with the Childs 
brothers in Utah, and after again reaching Wisconsin, I 
addressed a note to John Childs, of Lima, requesting an 
interview. The request was promptly granted, the 
meeting to take place in a quiet business office with which 
we were both familiar. Mr. Childs, who was perhaps the 
most prosperous and honored man in his neighborhood, 
was usually addressed even by many of his younger 
friends as John, so that after we had met as arranged, and 
he had anchored his large frame in an easy chair, and I 
was comfortably adjusted in another, I said, "John, did 
you not have some brothers back in York state .f^" 

He replied in the single word "Yes," with a rising in- 
flection, as if about to ask, "Why do you wish to know?" 
but he did not continue. 

"Well, John, do you know what became of them?" 

After a little hesitation he told briefly of the belief that 
prevailed with other members of the family, that they 
enlisted for the Mexican war, but their friends had failed 
to obtain any definite trace of their movements and all 
trace of them was lost in that campaign. 

"Could you not secure information concerning them 
through the records of the war department?" I asked. 

"Nothing definite, except that there was a suspicion at 
one time that they might have gone up into Utah, but 
we tried to locate them, and have never heard a word 
from them, or of them, to this day, and I suppose they 
were lost in some adventure." 

It was evident that while John had not yet told all that 
he knew of his brothers, his belief was that they were not 



402 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

living, as he had never been able to obtain any tidings 
concerning them. When, however, I recited the full 
names of his brothers, also the date and place of their 
birth, and some other data of family interest and asked 
if they fitted the case, it was then that John Childs awoke 
to the fact that I had some information to impart, that 
might be of interest. Without further delay I stated to 
him that all his brothers were living and prosperous. The 
word came to him as a voice from the long ago, and was 
seemingly as startling and unexpected to him as if coming 
from another world. I told him of my night spent with 
the brothers in Utah, of their story of the family separa- 
tion and of their effort to effect a reconcilation by a letter 
addressed to the wrong post-office. John stated that he 
had never received a line from them, but suspecting that 
they might be in Utah he had addressed them at Salt 
Lake, which was quite natural, though that city, it ap- 
pears, was forty miles from their home. That letter also 
failed to reach its destination, and all parties believed that 
the old bitterness was still alive. The situation was now 
perfectly clear, whereupon John at once wrote letters that 
brought friendly replies as promptly as the overland 
stage mail could transmit them, bringing the first direct 
word that had passed in twenty years. 

As already stated, one of the Childs brothers was con- 
stable. In discussing the matter of my search for stolen 
property he was emphatic in his advice that the pursuit 
of the other train would involve a great hazard. It was 
traveling with light loads, evidently going North to 
winter on some of those ranges, and before it could be 
overtaken it would be outside the limits of Utah. If 
the property was with it, the men would certainly resist 
the intrusion of an unaccompanied searcher, and an un- 



ADVENTURES OF AN AMATEUR DETECTIVE 403 

equal fight would be the result. It was a lonely, wild, 
and tough country at best, they all declared, with a 
"don't try it" as their final word of admonition. 

"All right, fellows," said I, "and possibly you are right. 
I have seen some of this country and will return South." 

After breakfast and some pleasant farewell words I 
started on my return to Salt Lake. Some distance in ad- 
vance, I noticed a solitary horseman riding in the same 
direction I was going. As the country was unsettled, the 
prospect of companionship led me to hasten until he was 
overtaken. He proved to be a Mormon pioneer, and 
after some preliminary conversation as we rode along side 
by side he informed me that his name was James S. 
Brown. 

"Are you the James S. Brown who first discovered gold 
in California, at Sutter's Mill.^" I asked. 

"I was there," he replied. "There were James Mar- 
shall, H. W. Bigler, and James Berger who were with me. 
We had been with the Mormon Battalion sent to the 
Mexican war, and having been discharged we came up to 
Captain J. A. Sutter's ranch on the American River." 

"I have read much of that ranch in John C. Fremont's 
records," I replied. 

Continuing he said, "We were out of money and needed 
horses for our return trip to the Missouri River, therefore 
we engaged to help Sutter build a saw mill on the stream 
at the point where the City of Sacramento now stands. 
Sutter went to California from Missouri, and acquired a 
principality in size and value, and was the first settler. 
It was during that work that in January, 1848, we found 
gold. It had not been seen there before. As a fact we 
brought the first news of the discovery East, which re- 
sulted in the rush of 1849." 



404 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

Mr. Brown was somewhat above the average in size 
but at the time of our meeting was lame as the result of 
some accident in his early days. His description of the 
hardships of his brigade in the Arizona desert, which 
through questioning was elicited from him, was thrilling 
in the highest degree. 

Continuing his story from time to time after occasional 
digressions he told of the return of their party over the 
Sierras Eastward, of their troubles with the Indians and 
of other hardships. Although in Mr. Brown's interesting 
volume on the Life of a Pioneer, written in later years, 
he makes no mention of the circumstances, yet he told 
me that when his little party had arrived at the north 
end of Great Salt Lake in the autumn of 1848, and had 
determined that it would be much safer to spend the 
winter in that valley than to cross the mountains so late 
in the season, they were led by friendly Indians to under- 
stand that good forage for their horses could be found at 
the southern end of the Lake; whereupon, as he told me, 
the party traveled the same course that we were then 
following, along the western base of the Wasatch Moun- 
tains. At a point several miles north of the present site 
of Salt Lake City they unexpectedly met two of their 
Mormon friends, whom they had neither seen nor heard 
from since leaving the Missouri River two years before. 
They were informed for the first time that Brigham 
Young and many Mormons had crossed the plains and 
the mountains in the preceding year, and had erected a 
Cockade and settled at the south end of the lake. One 
member of Mr. Brown's party was astounded to learn 
that his mother, having crossed with one of the trains, was 
at that moment but 12 miles away and that she had 
driven a yoke of oxen the greater part of that long, tedious 



ADVENTURES OF AN AMATEUR DETECTIVE 405 

course, a duty made necessary by the heavy burdens 
which fell upon others. This was certainly a remarkable 
revelation to the weary travelers, who had supposed that 
they were alone in the middle of the continent. 

Near the close of the day Brown and I reached the 
ranch of Peregrine Sessions, a pioneer Mormon and a man 
conspicuous in Mormon history, from whom the place 
was known as Sessions' settlement. As we rode up to the 
door, Mr. Brown said to me: "It was right here that we 
met our Mormon brothers who informed us concerning 
the new Salt Lake settlement." It was arranged that we 
should spend the night with Mr. Sessions, who during the 
evening gave a brief account of the perils and privations 
to which they were subjected on their journey and some 
incidents connected with the early days in Utah. Dur- 
ing our evening's interview Mr. Brown described his 
first arrival at Salt Lake settlement, where he and his 
party found their friends living in brush sheds and dug- 
outs, a few only having log cabins, their general condition 
being most discouraging. Such was the beginning of 
Salt Lake City. 

We may now recall the fact that the settlement of Salt 
Lake City by the Mormons in 1847, and the discovery 
of gold in California in 1848, were the prime factors in 
the awakening of the Far West. Salt Lake Valley was 
an alkali desert declared to be absolutely hopeless by the 
early trappers and explorers. Its reclamation and culti- 
vation by those religious exiles made it the only supply 
point for provisions on the long road to the newly dis- 
covered Sacramento gold fields, and saved many from 
starvation, to the profit of all concerned. 

Mr. Sessions arrived in Salt Lake Valley in the middle 
of September, 1847, having conducted a company of fifty 



406 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

wagons, which closely followed the first train of Mormon 
pioneers conducted by Brigham Young. The Deseret News 
is authority for the statement that "Peregrine Sessions 
was the father of fifty-six children," — a patriarch indeed. 

It is true that the graphic yet ingenuously told story 
related by one of the discoverers of gold in California, 
one who carried to the States the first intelligence of that 
discovery, gave added interest to the visit that I soon 
made to those gold diggings, the fame of which had in- 
cited the first tide of transcontinental migration com- 
posed of hardy and reckless adventurers willing to under- 
go the trials and perils incident to such an expedition. 
These, with the Argonauts who sailed around by the 
Isthmus or Cape Horn, were the ones who first roused the 
latent energies of our Pacific coast territory. 

There were a very few, however, who were attracted 
not by gold but by admiration for the sublime and beau- 
tiful in nature, especially through companionship with 
the noble trees and towering cliffs of the Sierras; and 
these men aided in revealing to the world the previously 
unwritten history of these formations. Among them were 
John Muir, the shepherd, naturalist, and author, and 
Galen Clark, the pioneer and discoverer of the Mariposa 
Grove. I appreciated Galen Clark's homage for nature 
when, after spending a night at his cabin, built in 1857, 
he personally led me among those monarchs of the forest, 
stating the heights of various trees, and for my satisfac- 
tion assisted in measuring the trunks of many; one of 
them was 101 feet in circumference. He referred to them 
in affectionate terms, expressing the hope that they 
might be spared from the lumberman's axe. 

It was still later when I first visited Muir's haunts in 
the Yosemite; George Anderson, a Scotch ship-carpenter. 




< ■X 



M Si 



ADVENTURES OF AN AMATEUR DETECTIVE 407 

had spent the summer in driUing holes into the granite 
face of the upper ch'ff of the great South Dome, driving 
in it iron pins with ropes attached. Two or three per- 
sons were tempted to scale with the aid of these ropes the 
heights, which are nearly a perpendicular mile above the 
valley. I, too, was inclined to make the venture. I pro- 
ceeded in advance, followed by Anderson, who had in 
tow a young San Franciscan with a connecting rope 
around the young man's waist. It was a dizzy but in- 
spiring ascent and I was pleased to reach the top twenty 
minutes in advance of my pursuers. While spending 
an hour upon the summit, I discovered on its barren sur- 
face, a lady's bracelet. On showing it to Anderson, he 
said: "You are the third party who has made this ascent. 
I pulled up a young woman recently but she never men- 
tioned any loss except from nausea." Returning to Mer- 
ced, I observed a vigorous young woman wearing a brace- 
let similar to the one I had found. The lady proved to 
be Miss Sally Dutcher of San Francisco, who admitted 
the loss and thankfully accepted the missing ornament. 
A letter to me from Galen Clark states that he assisted in 
Miss Dutcher's ascent, Anderson preceding with a rope 
around his waist connecting with Miss Dutcher; also 
that she was certainly the first and possibly the last 
woman who made the ascent. These ascents are now 
forbidden, but the natural attractions of the State of 
California have drawn to it a vast revenue from transient 
nature lovers. 

But to return to the hospitable home in Utah. 

After spending the night with Mr. Sessions and his 
varied household, Mr. Brown and I on the following 
morning proceeded on our way to the City. 

Experienced detectives have spent years in their ef- 



408 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

forts to apprehend a single criminal and then failed; 
moreover a discreet officer will sometimes avoid being 
shot, as that is a high price to pay for success. Experts 
sometimes accomplish no more and have a less enjoyable 
ride than I did; and being but a novice I had no grounds 
for regret. Cool reflection convinced us all that the 
lost property was of little value and not worth bringing 
back at best, while some optimists maintained that it was 
really very good riddance. 



CHAPTER XXX 

The Overland Stage Line 

IN the past few months we had crawled many hun- 
dred miles with a slow moving ox train. Several 
weeks had the writer spent with a few intimate 
associates, while convoying a small horse-train. 
Possibly a thousand miles had he covered on 
horseback, often quite alone, with much opportunity for 
silent contemplation and an occasional resultant desire 
for better company than himself. Nearly two weeks 
had been passed in the heterogeneous but interesting com- 
panionship of the boarding-house mule train, with its 
peculiar vicissitudes. 

A time having arrived when return to the States seemed 
desirable, I decided, like many travelers, to conclude 
the season of travel on the highest scale of elegance pos- 
sible, and incidentally to profit by the experience of still 
another form of transportation. Having at command 
the two hundred and fifty dollars required for the pur- 
chase of a ticket to the Missouri River, and possibly a 
sufficient margin to pay for the meals at the various 
stations, I booked by the swift-going Ben Holliday 
coaches, patronized generally, as I was informed, only 
by the wealthy, or by those whose business was suffi- 
ciently important to justify the outlay. 

To reach Denver, the first town on the route, required 
seven days and six nights of continuous travel with no 
avoidable stops except for meals and relays of horses. 
Naturally for this long ride the choice of seats was a 
matter of much importance. Any human being, in 
whom there remains any life whatever, desires now and 

409 



410 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

then to change his position, also to secure an occasional 
doze without the risk of having his neck broken by a 
sudden jolt, while sleeping. The back seat with its 
ample head rest was, therefore, the first choice. I was 
compelled to take the middle seat, the least desirable. 
There being nine passengers, the three inside seats were 
occupied each by three persons, opportunity, however, 
being left for riding at times with the driver. 

At exactly eight-thirty o'clock on the morning of 
Thursday, October 25th, the driver was on his seat of the 
coach in front of the Salt Lake House. The baggage 
and mail had been carefully strapped into the boot on the 
rear, and the passengers were in their assigned places 
within. 

As was the invariable custom, a crowd of onlookers 
thronged the sidewalk, to watch the outgoing coach. The 
spirited horses, such as usually were selected for the runs 
into and out from stations where they were much ob- 
served, were fresh and eager. A few grand flourishes of 
the driver's whip ended by sending the lash out over the 
lead-horses with a sharp crack, and the team was off in 
grand form. As the outfit speeded down the street, it 
was a dress parade, advertising Ben Holliday's stage line. 
The first mile of this travel may be compared with the 
alluring picture advertisements with which modern 
railroad companies attract summer tourists. The real 
thing in tourist travel is better seen when one walks 
through a car crowded with weary, perspiring, dust-be- 
grimed recreation-seeking passengers, who bear little 
resemblance to the fine and jauntily dressed figures 
paraded in the beautiful booklets. And so, when an hour 
later we traveled slowly up the long ascending grade and 
muddy roads in Parley's Canyon, which were saturated 



THE OVERLAND STAGE LINE 411 

with melting snow, our plight seemed to be in striking 
contrast with our spectacular start. 

There was but one woman among the passengers, arid 
she with her husband occupied the front seat, facing me. 
Everybody "got acquainted" very quickly, after the 
manner of the West, and each told of the many promi- 
nent people in their home state, with whom they were 
intimate, and by four o'clock, at which time the eating 
station known as Kimball's was reached, each had be- 
come convinced that he was one of a party of distinguished 
and agreeable travelers. 

It was after dusk, when with a fresh team we were 
whirling down the steep curves of Silver Creek Canyon 
with horses on a full run, urged on by the Jehu on the box. 
We were making up lost time, for the roads had been 
heavy. At our right we were following the tortuous 
brink of dizzy precipices, the bottoms of which were lost 
to sight in the gloom of the mountain shadows. 

A passenger on the front seat, while holding tightly to 
the window frame, pushed his head outside and called at 
the top of his voice, "For Heaven's sake, driver, go 
slower." The only response was a renewed cracking of 
the whip and a more rapid clatter of the horses' hoofs 
upon the rocky road. As the coach plunged over an 
obstruction one passenger, who was changing his posi- 
tion on the back seat, was lifted to the roof of the coach 
by a sudden jolt and tumbled over the middle seat where 
he lay spread out, grasping the passengers in front for 
support. The horses speeded on just the same, for lost 
time must be made up on the down grades. All the pas- 
sengers had been accustomed to travel by stages, but it 
was remarked that at the beginning of each journey of 
this character the apparent perils of rapid night riding 



412 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

in the mountains were more fully realized than after 
several days of tension. When the long up-grade of 
Echo Canyon was reached, and for hours the progress 
was slower, affairs again settled down to a peaceful con- 
dition. While some passengers maintained a desultory 
conversation others dropped into fitful dozes, usually 
brought to an end by a short, vigorous snore. 

Early on the second morning, while the muddy ground 
was covered with white frost, we rode up to the break- 
fast station at Bear River, and an opportunity was given 
to relax the tense muscles of the legs, which had been 
pinioned down for the greater part of twenty-four hours. 
What would be their condition two weeks later .^ 

Another night closed in upon us, accompanied by a 
cold, driving rain. The passengers pulled their caps 
down over their eyes, drew their wraps snugly about their 
bodies, and sank back into the most restful positions 
possible. By common consent nearly all of the men ex- 
tended their feet to the opposite seat, to relieve their 
limbs from the continued confinement. The husband 
of my vis-a-vis negotiated for privileges on a portion of 
my seat for the feet of his wife, with his assurance of her 
full reciprocity, to which interchange I gratefully as- 
sented. The woman said that she was dying to stretch. 
I was quite willing to save her life by such an agreeable 
exchange of courtesy. 

At intervals of twelve or fourteen miles the driver gave 
vent to a series of war-whoops, which announced his 
approach to some little hut where horses were to be ex- 
changed. While this was being done by the dim light 
of a lantern, some passenger was sure to put his head out 
of the window and ask, * 'Where are we now?*' The reply 
that it was Lone Tree or Salt Wells, conveyed but little 



THE OVERLAND STAGE LINE 413 

information, as the stations were almost nowhere, being 
simply points in space marked by the stage company for 
convenience. Little could be seen from the coach except 
the stable and the vague outlines of some overshadowing 
hill behind it, and the men with the horses barely visible 
in the soft glow of the lantern. 

The drizzly autumn rain continued to fall until, in the 
gray dusk of the early morning, while the other passen- 
gers seemed to be dozing, I became conscious of a slowly 
increasing dip of the coach, which continued until the 
vehicle rolled upon its side. Then came a brief period of 
profound silence, as if all were pausing to learn if the 
evolution was really complete, and if we were not now to 
roll further down into some deep ravine. In the mean- 
time we were holding firmly one to another, but no sound 
of distress indicated that any one was injured. 

The first voice that came to our ears was from the 
driver outside, who uttered a few well-assorted oaths, 
which were addressed to himself, in a low tone of voice, 
but were, however, an assurance to us that all was well 
and that he was in his normal condition. It was some- 
what difficult for each passenger to extricate himself 
from the common mass of humanity with which he was 
implicated, and to get the several members of his own 
body clearly identified and segregated from those be- 
longing to others. 

One man, who was on the upper stratum, succeeded 
in escaping through the door, which now opened skyward, 
and emerged upon what had become the top of the coach, 
from which observatory he saw the driver standing 
quietly by his horses, deep in meditation, awaiting de- 
velopments. 

We were on comparatively level ground. The upset 



414 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

had been caused by a deep rut, and its ending was as 
gentle as could be wrought by human hands. The pas- 
sengers were lifted out one by one, and with their com- 
bined assistance the vehicle was righted upon its wheels, 
and we rolled on to the next station at Green River, 
where that swift stream was forded. The bottoms of the 
Concord coaches were water tight, so that very deep 
streams could be crossed with a fair prospect in many 
cases of bringing the passengers through dry shod. 

As a precautionary measure I took a seat on the top of 
the coach with a fellow traveler. In the course of our 
morning ride he informed me that the man in the coach, 
who was traveling with his alleged wife, was a professional 
gambler and the proprietor of a resort where was played 
the seductive game of poker, in which miners and fron- 
tiersmen make many hazardous ventures. We had been 
impressed with the spontaneous generosity with which, at 
every possible opportunity, he had proffered to each 
passenger the contents of one of the black bottles which 
were convenient in his satchel. It was offered as night 
came on as a protection against chills, and again at the 
dawn of day as an appetizer to stomachs already craving 
for food. Before fording any stream his whiskey was rec- 
ommended, with the suggestion that there was danger 
of our coming in contact with water. After crossing the 
stream it was poured out as a libation in pious thankful- 
ness that all were safely over. By the end of the third 
day he seemed oblivious of passing events. 

After the storms had passed away and we were under 
bright skies and in a clear, exhilarating atmosphere, I 
spent the greater part of my time upon the top of the 
coach. The right of way was universally accorded to 
the coaches, because they carried the United States 



THE OVERLAND STAGE LINE 415 

mail. Even in the canyons or other narrow roadways, 
other travelers, who were now and then passed, invari- 
ably drove out of the road, if possible, as soon as they 
saw the stage approaching. After the morning of the 
fifth day large numbers of antelope and deer as well as 
a few elk were seen. As each passenger had some sort 
of rifle, a fusillade of shots was often sent somewhat at 
random toward the unsuspecting animals, but usually 
without hurting them, for the stage was rarely halted 
for so trifling a reason as to enable sportsmen to aim 
with precision. 

On the sixth day of our ride we were crossing the high 
Laramie plains. With three other passengers I got on to 
the top of the coach. The driver had six lively bronchos 
for his team. A stiff east gale was driving into our faces. 
On a smooth down grade the whip was cracked a few 
times over the horses' heads to urge them to the limit 
of their speed, and all were on a keen gallop, which is the 
favorite gait of the broncho. The passengers pulled 
their caps tightly upon their heads that they might not 
be blown away. 

"Gimme a match," said the driver, as with one hand 
he filled his pipe with some of the weed that seemed to be 
loose in his overcoat pocket, and then inserted the pipe 
stem between his teeth. 

"You don't expect to light your pipe while facing this 
gale," exclaimed a Hebrew, who sat behind the driver. 

"Mebbe I can." This reply resulted in a proposed 
wager of five dollars on condition that the pipe must be 
lighted with the first match used, the driver to hold the 
six lines and the whip in his hands and to keep the horses 
on a run. 

"I'll cover it," said the driver. The money was placed 



416 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

in the hands of a passenger. The lash again cracked 
over the horses, when the team started with renewed 
vigor. The driver pulled his buckskin glove from his 
right hand and quickly placed its fingers in his left hand, 
in which he also held his lines and whip. Striking the 
match on the sole of his boot he inserted it into the open 
glove into which he also poked the bowl of his pipe, and 
in a moment the pipe was in successful operation. He 
reached over to the stakeholder and closed upon the 
$10.00, which he shoved into the pocket with the to- 
bacco, remarking that it was dead easy, and that he 
had won money the same way on nearly every trip. 

At the next home-station, where our driver would 
ordinarily be exchanged for another, it was found that be- 
cause of delays no other driver was there for relief, and 
although he had already been on the box for several 
hours he must proceed with the stage. 

He was not in a contented frame of mind, and there- 
fore swore lustily as he mounted the seat, and with six 
fresh bronchos rushed the team until he reached Willow 
Springs. It appears that at the previous station he had 
received from the generous passenger in the coach a 
flask of whiskey, to aid him in keeping up his courage. 
Four fresh spirited horses were now hitched to the coach 
for the next fifteen mile's drive. The bleak gale caused all 
but the driver to go inside. The driver took a fresh 
draught from the flask, mounted the box and applied 
the whip in so brutal a manner that it became evident 
that he was drunk. One of the lead horses led in a run 
and it was clear that the driver had lost control both of 
himself and his team. While on one down hill course we 
found ourselves continuously outside the road, bounding 
over stones, with the horses in a panic and on a dead run. 



THE OVERLAND STAGE LINE 417 

We were liable to be dumped at any moment. The pas- 
sengers were on their feet, calling through the windows 
to the driver to stop. He was too drunk to reply audibly. 
Being the youngest passenger and rather slender and 
supple I crawled through the window over to the top 
of the swaying coach and slid down on the seat by the 
driver before being observed by him. Instantly the 
reins and whip were wrested from his lax grasp. No other 
act will enrage a professional horseman so thoroughly as 
this. The driver made a dive for the ribbons and swore 
that no man should take his horses. A single light blow 
upon his head convinced him that he must submit. He 
knew that he was helplessly drunk and his horses were 
running away. Having had some experience in manag- 
ing a four-in-hand I was soon able, by watching the 
course, to turn them to the right up a hillside and bring 
them under control for a sufficient time to enable some 
of the passengers to escape. Some of them tried to 
pacify the rearing lead horses with kind words. One 
strong man consented to mount the box and hold the 
drunken driver in subjection until the outfit could be 
brought into the road. The other passengers, except the 
gambler, walked for half a mile until convinced that it 
would be safe to ride, when they returned to their seats. 
The regular driver begged for the reins, but his guard held 
him in custody until we were in sight of the home-sta- 
tion at Virginia Dale. The intoxicated coachman had 
come somewhat to a consciousness of the situation and 
in response to his pleadings he was permitted to drive 
the last half mile of his run. All the passengers except 
the gambler abandoned the coach and walked. He who 
remained was true to his profession and said that he 
would gamble on the risk and ride. The manager at 



418 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

Virginia Dale said that the driver would be discharged 
from the service, but our opinion was that it would be 
only for the night. 

On the seventh day we skirted along the eastern slope 
of the mountains and now once more upon the plains we 
passed numerous herds of antelope and elk. At night 
we arrived at the Planter's House in Denver. 

It had been eight years since George A. Jackson, a 
trapper and companion of Kit Carson, discovered gold in 
Cherry Creek near the present site of that settlement. 
As Pike's Peak (discovered by Zebulon M. Pike in 1806) 
was hardly a hundred miles distant and was the nearest 
object bearing a name that had appeared on the maps at 
any time prior to the Cherry Creek discovery, the dig- 
gings were first known as Pike's Peak Gold Mines. 

In the following autumn of 1858 intelligence unac- 
companied by any particulars reached the States by the 
way of Omaha that gold had been discovered at Pike*s 
Peak. The news vividly colored by excitable men spread 
like wild fire through the country. Early in the following 
spring I saw a small train roll out with a party of ad- 
venturers whom I well knew to be on the alluring quest 
for Pike's Peak gold. One wagon bore the legend which 
later became familiar 'Tike's Peak or bust." I saw 
members of the party in the autumn of the same year 
after they had returned "busted." Their hunt was like 
the storied search for the bag of gold at the foot of the 
rainbow. Before the rumor of the discovery of the pre- 
cious metal had barely had time to rouse the average for- 
tune seeker George Scofield of Council Bluffs,who had been 
a successful placer miner in California in 1849, joined with 
his neighbors, Samuel Dillon, William Kuhn, George 
Ritter, and Joseph Wheeler and late in 1858, fitting out a 



THE OVERLAND STAGE LINE 419 

four ox team with supplies, started immediately for Pike's 
Peak. As they wandered among the foothills near the 
mountains the snow began to fly. With the view of 
establishing winter quarters they moved down to Cherry 
Creek and built the first log house erected in that part 
of the territory. This was the beginning of Denver. 
This record with the print of the house is furnished by 
Ira Scofield who was in at the house warming. Thus was 
planted, in what was then Kansas territory, another active 
aggressive center of population which was to open the 
slumbering wealth of the hills, rouse the latent energies 
of the soil and carve out the new state of Colorado. The 
rush of fortune-seekers, the majority of whom went 
broke, brought to the Cherry Creek country a legion of 
adventurers. The town, which at the beginning repre- 
sented a shifting, unstable population, was named Den- 
ver in honor of James W. Denver, then Governor of 
Kansas territory. 

After a brief sojourn in Denver I devoted a few days 
to a tour through the new mining district back in the 
mountain gulches, and later through South Park to 
Mount Lincoln, which at that time was said to be the 
highest peak in the Rocky Mountain Range, and which 
I ascended on horseback, finding it an easy task. 

The petrified forest in South Park was then an interest- 
ing feature. There were numerous stumps of trees of 
massive proportions ; some of them that I measured were 
eighteen feet in diameter. They stood near together in a 
slight depression, at an altitude of almost 10,000 feet. 
They were thoroughly petrified. The indication was 
that for a long period their trunks had been submerged 
to a height of 15 or 20 feet above their bases in a shallow 
lake of silicious waters, until the transformation to that 



420 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

height was complete. The tops not having been sub- 
merged doubtless decayed ages ago. With some labor 
I took home with me a large fragment from one great 
petrified stump, the rings of which in some places were 
clearly defined. On counting them across some level 
section it appeared, by ascertaining the number of rings 
to the inch, that it had required at least a thousand years 
for the tree to attain its growth. How many thousand 
years it had stood in that barren valley since it had been 
converted into stone no man can tell, but it is certain 
that the destructive hands of thoughtless men, in the 
brief period of seven or eight years after my visit, leveled 
all the stumps to the ground and used portions thereof 
in various constructive works. In short, there is little 
left of what should have been preserved intact as an in- 
teresting, geological phenomenon. The fireplaces and 
chimneys in a ranch owned by a Hollander, named 
Costello, where I once spent the night near this ancient 
forest, were built from broken sections of these petrified 
trees. 

The Butterfield Overland Dispatch had been operating 
a line of stages by the Smoky Hill route for several weeks, 
and I proceeded onward from Denver by their coaches. 
As stated by Root in his volume The Overland Mail, 
this company within eighteen months of its establishment, 
and on account of financial difficulties brought on more 
or less by Indian depredations, was forced into liquida- 
tion. 

Evidence that the Indians were very busy in endeavor- 
ing to prevent the running of these stages was unpleasantly 
convincing. On our first night out we passed the smok- 
ing ruins of a station that had been burned by the Indians 
within the preceding twenty -four hours. Discovering 




*^ I ill I * iiw. 




THE OVERLAND STAGE LINE 421 

this state of affairs, the passengers kept their guns close 
at hand. Nearly all were provided with Spencer Car- 
bines. 

Having received advices that trouble of this nature was 
brewing, the driver had taken on board a quantity of 
provisions to be used in an emergency. This prophy- 
lactic measure proved exceedingly fortunate, because at 
the home station next beyond the one that was burned, 
the Indians had within a few hours appropriated every- 
thing of the nature of supplies that could be found there, 
and had then moved on eastward. For some strange 
reason this building was not then burned, nor were the 
keepers killed. Our party consisted now of seven pas- 
sengers, one of whom was Governor Alfred Gumming. 
On entering the pillaged station we found a slender, 
youthful-looking man, with his young wife and infant 
child. They informed us that on that morning the 
Indians had closed in on their station, and as they were 
hungry after their raidings of the preceding night, the 
husband in desperation had welcomed them, and he with 
his little wife had been cooking for them until all supplies 
were exhausted. Their stock of provisions was replen- 
ished from the supply brought by our coach, and with 
some assistance from our driver they wearily cooked our 
breakfast, in which they were happy to share. 

As all the operations were conducted in a single room, 
the Governor conversed with the young woman while 
she was preparing the meal. In reply to his questions 
she said that she and her husband had been alone the 
greater part of the time during the Indian troubles, and 
in fact since the station was built. She had no physician 
or nurse to assist her at any time, but she and her hus- 
band had been able to care for the stage passengers, who 



422 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

stopped for their meals, and had protected the company's 
horses to the best of their ability, yet some of them had 
been run off by the Indians. 

The Governor interested the lady by unrolling a 
superb grizzly-bear skin, which he was taking to Wash- 
ington as a gift to the President. 

At one of the stations I observed a circular cellar 
roofed with earth so as to be fireproof, the sides being 
built up two or three feet above the surface of the ground 
and provided with port holes. This cellar, or fort, was 
connected with the station house by a subterranean pas- 
sage, extending under the roadway, forming a tunnel 
about seventy feet in length. The cellar afforded a place 
of retreat, in case the station should be fired, and an ex- 
cellent defense against attack. 

Our driver remarked that the Indians were not the 
only objects of dread. He said that while bringing some 
passengers on a recent run out from Denver, he observed 
that they conferred frankly with one another on the best 
means for concealing their effects, as holdups were not in- 
frequent. A lady innocently informed her fellow travel- 
ers that she had concealed $100 in her stocking and 
carried but $20 in her portemonnaie. The coach was 
duly held up at dusk by highwaymen. The attack was 
so sudden that no defense was made. Each passenger 
at the point of a revolver was made to pay tribute while 
the driver was held at the muzzle of a rifle. The woman 
trembling with fear delivered her portemonnaie and 
begged for her life. A skinny-looking miner, whose con- 
tribution seemed to be unsatisfactory, said to the active 
road agent of the gang, *Tf we can rake up another $100 
somewhere, will you let us off?" "Yes," said the bandit, 
"if you will do it d — d quick." 



THE OVERLAND STAGE LINE 423 

"It's in that woman's stocking," said the apparently 
frightened miner. The money was promptly secured, 
and the stage was permitted to proceed. Some curses 
and threats were soon hurled at the ungallant miner. He 
finally said, "Me and the woman will fix things up right 
in the morning." 

Sure enough, after the sun was well up the miner 
reached down his boot leg and hauled out a package of 
$100 bank-notes, handing the lady from it $200 in good 
money, and remarked that he was not so mean as he 
seemed to be, but had thought on the spur of the moment 
that this was the easiest way of saving all further un- 
necessary trouble. He had saved just $4800 by his 
diplomacy. 

Not all those reckless freebooters were lost to the 
world even after the iron rails were laid. It may be of in- 
terest to catch a glimpse of one of their later haunts and 
the home of a better class who had for a time been ex- 
posed to their influence. The trains at the time in ques- 
tion were running to Kit Carson. It seemed that the 
gamblers and adventurers of the Southwest had concen- 
tered at this point and made its character notorious. It 
was my fortune to spend a night in that settlement, 
while en route to Fort Lyon on the Santa Fe trail. The 
tavern was a big saloon and was said to be the rendezvous 
for many men who had served their apprenticeship on 
the road, and was the resort of other experts from the 
States. 

"Can't give you a bed until after midnight," said the 
proprietor in reply to my request for a room. 

The only comfortable waiting place was the billiard 
room, which afforded shelter until two o'clock in the 
morning, up to which time whiskey, gambling, and swear- 



4^ THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

ing were blended in just and equal proportions. The 
room having furnished nearly all the revenue to be ex- 
pected for that night, I was informed that I could sleep 
upon a billiard table temporarily unused. It then ap- 
peared that the billiard tables regularly served this double 
purpose. Enveloped in a blanket I appropriated the 
softest spot to be found, and as one by one the abandoned 
tables were occupied by guests, I became reconciled to 
my fate. 

The next night found me at Las Animas, in a so-called 
hotel, the partitions of which were made of canvas. 
Voices could easily be heard from room to room. When 
I was retiring, the proprietor informed me of the death 
of an old resident who had been in the colony more than 
a year, and was therefore an old settler. A little later 
the same now familiar voice was recognized in another 
room, as he declared to his wife, 'T don't know what in 
the devil to do about that funeral. They say they are 
going to get a minister." 

"Why, what about it, Jim,'* replied the woman. 

"Wall, they expect me to run it, and if they have a 
minister I suppose they will want a Bible, and I don't 
know where in Hell to get one." 

"You ain't going there to hunt for one, are you?" said 
the woman. 

"I guess I could find one there as easy as I could in 
Las Animas," was the response. 

"But say! Didn't they have one when Hat Morrow 
was buried.''" 

"I reckon they did, and I'll go right over and find out. 
If I'm to run the job, I'd like to do it in style." 

The man was soon heard to pass out and close the door. 

I did not learn the result of the landlord's quest for a 



THE OVERLAND STAGE LINE 425 

Bible, but I was led to believe that in their hearts there 
was a latent feeling of reverence for that Book, which an 
emergency would awaken. The minister, however, may 
have brought a Bible with him. 

On our second day out from Denver our coach was 
stopped fully half an hour, not by bandits but by a 
herd of buffalo uncountable in number, which, in a 
solid body as closely massed as a flock of sheep, 
crossed the road moving southward on their annual 
migration. From that time for the two succeeding 
days there was not a moment when there were 
not many thousands of buffalo within range of our view. 
The hills in every direction as far as the eye could reach 
were dotted with those great, dark-moving objects. It 
would require no marksmanship at 50 or 100 yards to 
send our Spencer bullets into the mass without singling 
out any particular animal. Three buffaloes were left 
wounded by shots from a passenger who fired at short 
range from the coach into the first herd we encountered. 

The prairies of eastern Kansas, from which the buffalo 
had been driven, were more fertile and produced grass 
more luxuriantly than the ranges farther west. When we 
crossed those eastern plains on our return trip, they had 
become dry from the frosts and late drouth. As we were 
sitting on the outside of the coach with the driver one 
night, we observed an increasing glow in the southeast, 
which betokened an approaching prairie fire that was 
being driven northward before a brisk southern breeze. 
The leaping flames soon became visible and their rapid 
progress was alarming. We considered the advisability 
of halting and protecting ourselves for a time with a back 
fire, which is the common practice when travelers are 
threatened by such a danger. We certainly could not 



426 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

safely advance. The remedy was easy. Yielding the 
reins to another, the driver jumped to the ground and ap- 
plied a lighted match to the little clumps of dry grass on 
each side of the road. On the leeward side the flames 
soon gained headway and sped off to the northward 
widening as they advanced. On the other side they 
crept slowly toward the oncoming greater conflagration 
which was approaching with a crackling and subdued 
roar and lighted up the country in every direction. Be- 
yond us they swept across the road, but when they met 
the back fire, which advanced but slowly against the 
wind the two lines of flame melted together into one and 
died, leaving only the few hot, black ashes, which quickly 
cooled. For hours the northern sky was luminous from 
the reflection of the receding flames, which crossed our 
trail and swept onward, possibly until checked at the 
shore of some far away stream. 

Thus over that broad uncultivated expanse of fertile 
prairie those awe inspiring fires were sweeping, as they 
doubtless had often done in centuries past, unheeded ex- 
cept by the wild dwellers of the plains or in later years by 
a few stray travelers. And this was Kansas, the first 
and at this time the only trans-Missouri territory that 
had been welcomed to the sisterhood of states, except 
those on our western tide-water that were accessible by 
navigation. 

Although its eastern border near the river had been 
settled somewhat through the stimulus of the intense 
ante-bellum struggle to make it a free commonwealth, 
its western and central territory was still unoccupied. 
There in the dawn of its infant life this great state lay 
sleeping, awaiting the coming of the day when the farmer 
would turn its virgin soil, plant it with seed, and reap the 



THE OVERLAND STAGE LINE 427 

abundant harvest. But those prairies, then remote from 
commercial or mining centers, have no navigable waters, 
and the planter cannot thrive unless there first be fur- 
nished some means for transporting his crops to market. 
Until these should be provided, Kansas and all those 
embryo states must slumber on undeveloped. The ox- 
and mule-trains between the Missouri and the mines 
or western coast would follow the trails, as they had done 
in the years gone by, leaving but little tribute on their 
way. 

A decade had passed since Thomas H. Benton in a 
speech at the St. Louis Court House, in advocacy of a 
railroad to the Pacific, suddenly pointed toward the West 
and declared with dramatic emphasis, "There is East, 
there is India." In his prophetic vision he doubtless 
saw where the East may be said to meet the West, on the 
further shore of the broad Pacific, but as the logical re- 
sult of railroad transportation he also prophesied the de- 
velopment of our own western domain, all of which would 
be needed for future generations. Horace Greeley also 
anticipated this awakening. 

At the time when the great prairie fires occurred, to 
which reference has just been made, three years had 
elapsed since the bill had been passed by Congress pro- 
viding for the building of the Pacific railroad, and the 
work was already inaugurated, both from Omaha and 
Kansas City, pushing out into the unsettled territory. In 
the following year the work progressed rapidly from both 
initial points, and a vigorous population composed of 
thrifty young people from the middle states poured across 
the Big Muddy, disdainfully leaving behind them the 
broad and equally fertile areas in Missouri, partly be- 
cause they were undeveloped by railroads, and these 



428 THE AWAKENING OF THE DESERT 

immigrants built a chain of villages along each of the 
new western railroad lines as rapidly as the tracks were 
laid. These villages were speedily surrounded by the 
green fields of husbandmen, until those roads were like 
necklaces of steel with emerald settings. Colleges were 
soon built in each of the trans-Missouri territories 
through which the roads passed, where two decades be- 
fore the wolves had roamed at will. 

A certain twentieth century statesman having ap- 
parently a less distinct knowledge of the past than Ben- 
ton and Greeley seemed to have of the future has re- 
cently said, * 'States made the railroads," and this al- 
legation was assigned as the reason why state legisla- 
tures should regulate railroads without interference by 
the United States Government. In watching the magi- 
cal development of the West, as I have carefully done, 
and observing that its evolution, sometimes on its fertile 
lands, at other times on arid deserts once regarded as 
hopeless, was always rapid along or near the new lines of 
transportation and scanty, if at all, elsewhere, one is 
tempted to invert the statesman's assertion that "States 
made railroads" and declare with greater justice that 
"Railroads have made states," and while like men they 
should be subject to regulation, they also deserve that 
reasonable protection to which a prime factor in modern 
civilization is entitled. 

Nearly half a century has passed since there began 
this sudden and wonderful awakening of the Western 
Wilderness, the processes leading up to which are de- 
scribed in these pages as they were unfolded to one who 
had observed them from the first quickening of Western 
emigration. 

The Wild West as still caricatured in the arena by 



THE OVERLAND STAGE LINE 429 

dashing, reckless circus cowboys and swift-footed Texas 
steers is no more. The limitless ranges of semi-arid lands 
over which those riders coursed their hardy mustangs 
are now partitioned by wire fences within which steady 
herdsmen watch their blooded stock. 

The old Oregon and Santa Fe trails stretching half way 
across the continent over wide wastes unpeopled except 
by savage tribes, once the scene of innumerable thrilling 
adventures and desperate encounters, are now quite for- 
gotten except as they are held in vivid remembrance by 
the few still living who have traced their dusty courses 
across the plains and deserts or their sinuous pathways 
through the mountain canyons. 

Steel railways now parallel those trails along which 
trains of prairie schooners slowly crept, and thousands 
of miles of steel branches radiate from them across vast 
areas hardly visited fifty years ago even by the explorer. 

The warrior tribes are subdued and driven to reserva- 
tions; the buffalo is seen no more on those broad vistas; 
a dozen great and populous commonwealths have arisen 
in those territories and have been added to the galaxy 
of American States, and thriving cities and towns, 
thoroughly abreast with advanced civilization, are now 
scattered over the expanse defined on the ol d maps as the 
Great American Desert. 









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HECKMAN 

BINDERY INC. 

DEC 89 

N. MANCHESTER. 









